Person of Interest: Resurgence
by nazcarfanatic
Summary: It's been 3 months since Samaritan's defeat by the insurgence led by Harold Finch. Shaw has taken up working the numbers in NYC, Fusco is up for promotion, Harold and Grace have retired to a quiet corner of the country. All of the heroes are brought together by a figure from their past, someone they thought was dead. Now they face a new threat that will bring them together again.
1. Chapter 1

An afternoon sun, while partially obstructed by turn of the century buildings, manages to illuminate a seedy, grimy New York alley. The last place one would ever expect to find Aiden Jarvis running for his life. Now as fate would have it, Jarvis, a low man on the totem pole accountant, with a ruthless ambition to play with the big boys, couldn't leave well enough alone. Jarvis finally landed the big account from mid level drug dealers, he embezzled a little pocket change for himself.

Cause and effect, cause and effect, later Aiden Jarvis winds up here on the run. Two enforcers are chasing after him in the maze of Alleyways. It's only a matter of time before one or more corner him. It's a forgone conclusion of galactic proportions that Aiden Jarvis' number has come up. Jarvis slips on a grime puddle and falters into an old brick wall. Yet he uses his adrenaline burst to push and bounce off the wall and lunge him into the opposite direction, giving him some much needed momentum. Unfortunately, the advantage comes with a drawback as the gunmen hear his fumbling around and now know almost exactly where Aiden Jarvis is located. Now Jarvis, while being of a higher socio-economic status, lacks the knowledge of urban planning as, he would have never ventured into this area under normal circumstances. His assailants, however, having been integrated and cultivated in poverty and this culture, quickly deduce the pattern of the pathways and corner Jarvis. Both gunmen wait at the intersecting path, knowing full well that it's only a matter of seconds before they cross paths with their mark.

Like clockwork, Aiden Jarvis dashes and stops dead in his tracks when he sees them. Now he knows he's fucked!

"Aiden, you knew it would come to this" said the taller gunman rocking the expensive sunglasses.

"Yeah, you brought this on yourself, Jarvis. Had you just kept your head down and moved the money around like Massimo wanted, you could have been a fat cat in a Wall Street condo, getting your potato pounded on a daily basis by New York's most nympho-maniacal", stressed the shorter yet more muscular gunman.

The enforcers reach into their suave suit jackets and pull out their guns. Both of them screw on the silencers. "I guess being a one percenter just wasn't good enough, you had to show your ass and steal from us" said the tall one.

Both the goons take aim in a way that lets Jarvis know via nonverbal communication that his ass isn't walking away from this. "Accountants like you are a dime a dozen, Jarvy. You could have been beautiful".With that being said Aiden Jarvis closes his eyes.

Two muffled gunshots ring out, sounding like a futuristic laser gun going "pew pew". Jarvis keeps his eyes closed. Two out of context screams and thuds ring out, and as much as he dreads it, Jarvis opens his eyes. He finds to his utmost surprise that both his assailants have been incapacitated, and he wonders how in the hell this is even possible until he sees movement out of the corner of his eye.

Out from the shadow in a corner, walks a slender lanky woman with dark black hair. Her movements are smooth and calculated, almost reptilian like a snake. The mysterious woman is holding a handgun with a silencer, as she walks nonchalantly over to Aiden. She merely looks him in the eyes, just long enough to relish in the fact that he's scared. The woman proceeds to walk over to the two gunmen and kick their guns out of sight. Unbeknownst to the three men, their fate has been changed for better or worse, by Sameen Shaw!

"Who...the hell are you?". Sameen Shaw walks off but not to far, almost as if she doesn't care, but on a microscopic level she does.

With her back turned to him and looking at the gunmen she says coldly "Who I am is not important, because if you're seeing me, then chances are you're having the worst day of your life. Now Jarvis, you need to take this, and move to some corner of the country and live out the rest of your days."

Shaw reaches inside her leather jacket and pulls out identification cards and a couple thousand dollars.

"A new ID? I can't take this" says a shocked Aiden.

"At this point you really don't have a choice" Shaw asserted.

"But this is all illegal and incredibly shady!" says Jarvis.

Shaw is becoming slightly irritated now "That's never stopped you before Jarvis. Do you want to know why I WAITED to shoot those two? Because in their little diatribes comes some truth, had you just kept your head down you wouldn't be in this shit, and we wouldn't be having this conversation. You see I am really irritated, because you stockbrokers and accounts are repeat victims and I get really sick and tired of saving your asses, and I really don't want to, to be honest. You will take this new identification and get the hell out of dodge, because if you think I'm terrifying, wait until Massimo Parveccio, hears that two of his finest have been kneecapped."

Aiden Jarvis merely nods and even though trembling he manages to walk away.

As he does the mysterious woman offers some advice "Go home, pack a bag, and make your way to the nearest airport. You have less than two hours before this gets out."

Jarvis takes the information to heart and walks away frantically.

Sameen Shaw is unphased by the turn of events and simply looks down at the two bleeding bodies. She then walks away and retreats back into the shadows. Shaw thinks to herself, she could have killed them if she wanted to, but deep down she remembers what the few people she truly cared about, her old allies, taught her: that all life is valuable.

Sameen Shaw walks out of the maze of alleyways, once Shaw reaches the main road, something catches her attention out of the corner of her eye!

 _"That motorcycle"_ she thought.

Becoming more intriguing to her, because she witnessed what appeared to be a man on a motorcycle following her and Bear, the day she took Bear back from Fusco. She didn't think much of it, but then she caught a brief glimpse of the same rider and motorcycle a month later, and now for a third time.

 _"Who is it, it can't be Reese?"_ , she wonders again Her curiosity is overcoming her, and Shaw wants to investigate, but she remembers that she has more pressing matters; she flicks her earpiece.

"I've got two more for you Lionel, they're in an alley on 12th street." she says.

"Alright Miss congeniality, I'll get right on it" Lionel Fusco says from his desk back at the precinct.

"They're two of Massimo Parveccio's enforcers" warned Shaw.

"Goddamn Shaw, what kinda number were you working? "

It was just an accountant who stole from Parveccio" she said.

Detective Fusco laughs and says "lemme guess...Leon Tao?"

Shaw smirks "No, that would almost be refreshing if it was Tao."

What follows is about a minute of awkward silence before Fusco decides to break the ice "you should really take some time off to relax, Broody! You can't do this forever, have you considered taking a vacation?"

Shaw quickly responds with "I don't do vacation, Lionel".

"Alright, well I'll have them pick up the bodies, take care of yourself, Shaw, let me know if you hear any word from Glasses, or John" says Fusco.

"I will. Goodbye Lionel, thank you."

* * *

Sameen Shaw flicks her ear, and keeps walking, she strolls around Manhattan for what seems like hours. She wonders what she'll do next, the machine hasn't sent her any more numbers, in fact there's been an unusual scarcity of them in the past month. She gathered deep down that something had to be wrong, the main clue is that she rarely hears it use _"her"_ voice. _"Its"_ voice, Shaw corrected herself in her own mind.

Sameen wondered why this still bothers her, she had moved on from _"Root"; there it is again, that name._ She tried to avoid saying it or thinking about it. Shaw pondered about the usage of the proper pronoun, and why she corrected herself. Was it because deep down she knew that the machine will never be _"her"_ , and using _"her"_ voice isn't the same?

Then shaw realizes she's doing it again, the self diagnosed sociopath is referring to the ASI as "her". Meaning someone that she really cared about, the only person who truly understood her, a person who was the complete opposite of her, yet somehow that brainy hacker, hacked her way into Shaw's brain and brought out emotions in her that she never knew she had.

The only person she expressed a genuine emotion for, a woman who caused the Persian sociopath to shed a tear for the first time in her life, when the machine relayed a message to her a few months ago.

A message that she'd known for a long time but hearing it in her voice finally touched her heart, _"if I was a shape, I'd be a straight line, an arrow". The arrow to Root's heart._ Shaw snaps out of it, and realizes again, what she's doing and who she's thinking of. It bothers her sometimes, but only for a few seconds, and sometimes Shaw hates that.

Out of the seven billion people on planet earth that Perky Psycho chose her, wanted her. Yet deep down there is a tiny ember of emotion, an ember which never spread enough to the point where Shaw could tell Root that she felt something for her as well, something deeper than care or friendship.

A yellow box appears around Sameen Shaw as the all seeing eye of the machine shifts focus and bounces to another corner of the city, where another figure illuminated in a yellow box slides out of a black SUV accompanied by NYC's finest. Lionel Fusco and three other officers walk into an alley, like clockwork, this is another day on the job.

No stranger to putting himself in charge Lionel Fusco orders "Wilson, Steppes, you two clean 'em up and process them, Detective Morales, wait here for forensics. Alright gentleman these are two of Massimo Parveccio's golden boys, so be careful, take them down to the precinct, and don't get your hopes up. I have a feeling they'll make bail before dinner time."

"You sure you're ready for the desk, Fusco? When you've been a shield as long as I have you acquire a sixth sense for sniffing these things out, and if you don't mind me, saying, you're niche seems to be out here in the field" says Morales.

Fusco understands where his fellow blue blood is coming from "Its one of them things you know? Lee is going to be a teenager soon, and the bullet I took three months ago, along with my partner Det. Riley's disappearance was the coup de grace. I need to take it easy, I'm pushing 45 and I want to see Lee grow up, teenage years are when they need you the most, am I right"?

"Indeed you are Fusco, I'll be sad to see you go" say Det. Morales.

"Hey now, don't be going soft on me, I'll just be at the precinct more, and plus I won't be so out of shape for league night at the bowling alley" Fusco says jovially. Forensics shows up and march into the alley to tag and bag evidence. The box reappears around Fusco and quickly fades out, and the Machine's point of view bounces back to a familiar hero.

Shaw is standing in front of the building she lives in now, realizing how quickly time has passed. She walks into her apartment, hangs her leather jacket in a closet, a closet full of leather jackets, jackets that used to belong to someone she once knew. Shaw refused to assign a name or pronoun in her mind and closed the door. Her apartment was pretty bare, only containing a bed, small television, a chair, some reading material, and cupboards. Cupboards stocked with minimal food, mainly Cocoa Puffs and Fruit Loops. Shaw bought mass quantities of them, they sooth her in some way.

Shaw strips off her clothes, walks over to her nearly barren fridge/gun safe, pops open a bottle of whiskey, and takes a few large sips. Then she proceeds to walk across her loft, naked, then walks into the bathroom. Glancing in the mirror Sameen eyes her most recent tattoo in her mirror, one near her shoulder, a tattoo, that she had done on an impulse in one of her rare vulnerable moments, it was a tattoo of a small arrow! Shaw's eyes quickly dart away from it and she turns on the water and takes a hot shower. She showers for almost two hours, and she doesn't care. Boredom is unbearable for a shark like Sameen Shaw, and yet she just stands there without purpose in her makeshift sauna.

After what seems like an ungodly long two hours, Shaw finally steps out. She dries off and tries to find something to keep her mind occupied. She's desperate and hopes that the machine will spit out a new number, that would be ideal. Shaw looks around to see if there's anything that can keep her mind occupied. She goes to put on a black shirt, nothing else.

Shaw weighs her options: _food, reading, couple hours of masturbating, or sleep._ _"Cross off reading"_ she thought. Shaw looked down, and acknowledged that she was naked from the waist down, her desire to feel something, anything, was overpowering her. After a few seconds of consideration she rules it out, besides she hasn't been able to get off the last couple of times she tried, since taking up the sole mantle of vigilante three months ago. Sameen, puts on pants, grabs a gun, and walks out and out of her apartment building. Her idea is really a grasp of the last straw, however it's the only thing she can think of to crush her boredom.

The great warrior intentionally takes long convoluted routes in hopes of stumbling across a crime, Hell, at this point Shaw will settle for catching purse snatchers. Much to her disappointment, but not her surprise, however Shaw finally reaches the secret entrance of the abandoned subway station. Prying open the janky ass vending machine, Shaw lumbers down the steps and flips an old light switch. Sameen Shaw stands there transfixed at her team's old headquarters. Memories flood back, and this time she's too powerless to fight them. She looks at the old bed, the desk, the pay phone, the recently patched up hole in the wall from when the subway plowed through it to escape Samaritan agents. Shaw walks over to the hole, clenches her fist and lays a few punches into it. Reasoning that since the patch job cost her the better half of a day, it damn well better hold, and sure enough it passes her tests. Then finally Shaw, eyes the computer, AKA the machine, her only hope for mental stimulation.

Sitting down she stares at it for a few minutes, then finally gives into the ridiculousness and asks out loud. "I need a number, please. You can send me to any part of the country, steal a number from Logan Pierce's group in DC if you have to, but I need this."

Leaning back into the chair, Shaw eyes both the monitors and the old pay phone, not caring which medium it chooses, as long as the Machine provides.

 **"NO THREAT DETECTED"** crawls across the monitor.

"Sleep it is then".

Giving in, she walks over to the small bed in the corner. Reluctantly she strips down to the bare essentials and crawls in the bed.

Realizing that fighting it, will only prolong her purgatory, Shaw allows herself one out of character thought, and acknowledges that the bed still carries _"her" scent. Root's scent._ After allowing her thoughts to betray her, Shaw turns over and attempts to fall into slumber. A small yellow box materializes around the sleeping Sameen Shaw, only to fade out and pan out to an outline of New York. Then the Machine's point of view slingshots to the state of Connecticut, then fades into the town of New Haven of all places.


	2. Chapter 2

New Haven, a culturally diverse town seeped in colonial history. Known for its plethora of amazing cuisine, top notch healthcare, and wide spectrum of fine art. The Elm City is a Mecca for intellectuals, foodies, and artists from all walks of life. So it should be no surprise when a yellow box forms around a tall drink of water, with a rigid walk and posture, walking out of the theater with a lively red head female . The man once known as Harold Finch, now going by Harold Walsh, has made his home and future with his fiance Grace, in this New England town.

Making their way, down the steps of the Long Wharf Theater, Harold and Grace take a moment to discuss the play on their way to their car. "It's hard to imagine how Allegiance, never ceases to amaze. Grace, it's even more remarkable the second time around" boasts Harold.

"Well you can never go wrong with George Takei" said a delighted Grace.

Both of them slip into their vehicle, and Grace continues the conversation "Hey Darling, listen I was thinking after my gallery next Tuesday night we could see Book of Mormon. Don't you remember we have those free tickets they gave us, from when you restored all the servers at the museum?"

"I really do keep forgetting about those tickets, yes absolutely, I hear Book of Mormon is to die for, Harold responds.

Grace chuckles.

"What is it?" Inquired a curious Harold.

"It's remarkable honey, you can remember thousands of lines of code, build some of the most intricate computer systems, including one for the DOD, but you keep forgetting about those tickets" Grace playfully points out.

Harold chuckles as he makes a turn, as they continue their route home.

Harold and Grace Walsh's home is a dated two story home with slanted roofs, a massive deck with a slanted roof overhang that covers the porch, and a deck wrapping almost completely around the second story, and a garden in the back. It's the typical 8 bedroom house perched up on a plateau overlooking the massive beach. The type of house that would belong to upper class turn of the 20th century old money. The type of place typical for someone like Harold Finch, now Harold Walsh, and his fiance grace. Both Harold and Grace walk up the porch into their house.

A couple of hours pass, and Harold flips through the television networks, the nightly news catches his eye. A story about a robbery gone wrong that turned into a homicide, after hearing the story Harold has a somber look about him.

By then Grace walks up behind him and comforts him "you still miss those days don't you"?

"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't, the machine, before the dark times were ushered in, was used with good intentions" replied a bummed out Harold.

"There was nothing you could have done, Honey" replied Grace.

Harold interjects with "Look out this window Grace, I've said it before but it feels like something is missing".

They both walk up to the window overlooking the ocean view from their cliff perched estate, and gaze out into it. Harold puts his hand on Grace's shoulder and continues "The way this house overlooks everything, it's like I'm meant to be a watcher, or a guardian of something. For all the trouble it brought, when I was Harold Finch, that's exactly who I was, a guardian, a protector, and even though I had employees working for me, we saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives. Now that it's all gone, it all feels empty, like somehow this was always destined to be my gift and my curse. But now, the Machine's gone, and while I want nothing else to be with you, part of me, deep down feels like I didn't do enough."

Grace looks him in the eyes "Harold, you're heart is bigger then you're whole damn body, remember what the Hebrew proverb says "he who saves one life, saves the world entire" and that's exactly what you and you're friends did. Being an artist, you can't help but believe in intuition and fate, and fate chose you and your friends to carry out that mission, and you guys did, and if fate desires it again so shall it be, and I don't care what your objections are, I'll be right there beside you" she says.

All of a sudden a timer breaks the tension and Grace darts off into the kitchen.

"But, right now Mr. Guardian, I need you to be my souz chef and help me prepare dinner" says the determined redhead.

Harold nods, and joins his fiance in the kitchen.

* * *

Outside the house, hundreds of yards off in the distance a figure on a motorcycle lowers his high powered binoculars, setting them in the satchel attached to the motorcycle. The figure pulls out a phone and composes a message.

 _The professor and the lady match your description_

 _They check out. That's all of them, the Persian, the cop, and_

 _the professor. Do we proceed?_

 _..._

 _Unknown: Yes. Send them out_

* * *

The Machine's omnipresent point of view closes out and pans outside the town of New Haven, then pans out even further, and zips back to New York City, the time stamp is 10:00 am. It's point of view hones in on a scrawny woman sleeping on a rigid bed in an old subway station. The woman, who's holding onto the sheets and pillow for dear life, slowly wakes.

Shaw checks her phone for the time, and immediately lurches out of bed. She must return to her loft to walk and then feed Bear. Sameen, scolds herself for being so reckless. She never sleeps this long. Shaw hurriedly puts on her clothes, grabs her gun, walks over to the computers, sees again that she still has no number, and proceeds on her way.

Shaw, opens the door of her loft, grabs the leash and says "come on Bear!".

Bear lets out a growl and scampers across the loft and licks his master.

Sameen lets out a rare smile as the dog licks her "I missed you too, buddy. Let's go for a walk".

The walk transpires like clockwork like almost all of the monotony in New York City. Shaw stops to purchase a hotdog from a vendor, but something catches her eye! A black SUV races towards her and comes to a complete stop, Shaw reaches for her gun, and in an instant leashes up Bear so he is safe, the windows roll down and a manila package is hurled at her, the van then speeds off. Shaw leans down and picks up the envelop, brushes off the few water droplets, and opens it. What she finds is a cryptic picture of Harold Finch and Grace with a big red target on them! Shaw's disbelief is cut short when a payphone across the street rings, intuitively she knows, what it's going to say before she even answers, but nonetheless Shaw answers the phone. A few faint garbling noises are visible to passerby, right before Shaw hangs up.

She sprints across the street to grab Bear. "Come on buddy, we gotta go back home." says a slightly frantic Sameen.

As they dash off Shaw flicks her ear "Bad timing Lionel, it'll have to be a rain check" barks Shaw.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there Maybeline, did you get a strange manila package with a photo of Glasses, too" says a curious Lionel.

"Yeah, he's the new number. I gotta go!" says Shaw trying to rush him off the phone.

"Slow your roll, Short and Deranged, I'm coming too. You may need backup" urged Fusco.

"No Lionel, besides I need someone to watch Bear" said a stern Shaw.


	3. Chapter 3

Back in a familiar setting, almost like Deja Vu, Harold and Grace walk down the steps of the theatre.

"My God, Book of Mormon, is worthy of a Pulitzer" expounded Harold!

Him and Grace exchange a little more banter then proceed to drive away to their home.

"Nothing will ever top the Broadway experience, commented Grace, with slight nostalgia.

Harold nodded and affirmed "some day we will go back to New York".

Harold pulls into the driveway of the Walsh estate, and him and Grace walk through their door. They both slink off their coats and stroll into their living room. "Hey Grace I was thinking for...".

But his words are cut short when one of their windows explodes as a gun shot and screeching tires occur simultaneously!

Harold and Grace take cover as they try to make their way to the door. Both stop dead in their tracks when they hear car doors close, and the color drains from both their faces when they see two figures rush their door and enter their home.

At long last Harold Finch, comes face to face with Sameen Shaw and Detective Lionel Fusco. Safety takes the first priority and the two heroes spring into action.

Shaw rushes to cover Harold and Grace.

"The shot came from a long range sniper rifle, I'll cover the back of the house" remarked Fusco.

"No need Lionel, snipers rarely stick around, help me with them" Shaw ordered.

The two help up Harold and Grace and brush off the glass.

"Nice digs you got here, Finch" Shaw said smoothly.

Lionel quipped "Hot damn, Mr. Peabody, living it up as a one percenter I see."

Harold finally coming to his senses manages to finally find the words

"Ms. Shaw...detective...what are you..."

But Grace interrupts, "You two...you're Harold's old employees, I've seen you before that day I was released on the bridge. Why are you both here, I mean not that we don't have an open door policy for friends, but what's going on?"

Shaw blows off the question, with a more pressing matter she exposes her bleeding shoulder "not to rain on you guys parade, but do you have a first aid kit" she says?

"Oh my god, yes, up in the top left cupboard" Grace responded with concern.

Shaw like a bolt of lightning, flings open the cupboard and turns her back to them, focusing on stitching her shoulder.

"Ms. Shaw, Detective, what on Earth brought you here" Harold asked for the third time?

"I summoned you all here" said a mousy voice that stunned all four of them.

It was a voice the three of them had never expected to hear again.

"I didn't know you had a PA system installed for the Machine, Finch" said Shaw, whose back was still turned and not focusing on what the other three are transfixed on.

Footsteps come down the stairs and the mysterious figure comes closer and closer into view. Harold, Lionel, and Grace's jaws dropped. Grace's out of confusion and surprise, Harold and Lionel Fusco stand there with all the color driven out of their faces.

To say they've seen a ghost would be an understatement.

Sameen Shaw, out of curiosity from the distant footsteps, combined with an unnerving awkward silence, and her own intuition finally turns around.

A rare moment of horror and awe came over her face. All four of them were staring at the person in front of them.

"Kiss kiss to you, too sweetie" said in a playful banter. For in front of them was none other than Samantha Groves, known to them as Root!


	4. Chapter 4

Harold, Lionel, Grace, and Sameen Shaw all stood in the kitchen speechless and bewildered, awkward silence passes for little over a minute, but to them it seemed like an eternity. They all must have thought it was a cruel joke. If it was a movie this would be the part where dramatic music plays then comes to a complete halt.

Grace was the first to break the ice "Honey, who is this woman, is she another one of your friends?"

Root tries to ease the tension "I know this is a lot to take in Harry, but you need to let me explain" she said.

Lionel finally chimes in "Cocoa Puffs, this is impossible, you're dead. I saw you, uh, her on the slab in the morgue."

"Ms. Groves is dead, I don't know who you're trying to fool here, but I saw her die in the car" said Harold.

All these skeptical responses, did not effect Root. She lets out a devious smirk and walks over to the most important person in the world to her, trademark hip sway in ful motion, Root stands directly in front of Sameen. Both study each other.

"You're awful quiet Sameen".

Root proceeds to run her fingers through Shaw's delicate black hair, and smiled. "You've gone a little gray" indicated Root as she grasped a slight gray hair.

With unbelievable agility Shaw brings her hand down and hits Root over the head with her gun, and knocks her out.

"Lionel grab her, Harold, Grace, I need something to tie her up with." Shaw ordered taking full charge of the situation

"We have zip ties in that drawer over there" remarked Grace.

"Ms. Shaw what has gotten into you? I want answers! You all just come here and bring a trail of destruction, and not that we're not grateful for the rescue, but I still want answers" said Harold.

"Here Lionel" said Shaw as she throws the zip ties over to Fusco, who has Root propped up against a chair.

Root is starting to come back into consciousness.

"You want answers Finch, fine, long story short your number came up, Fusco and I hopped a jet, and came to rescue you. As for "her" this has to be a bad soap opera, a twin sister or relative, but it's not her, and I am going to do a little blood test here" says Shaw, as she flicks a needle.

Taking all the information in, Harold remarks to Grace that she should probably sit down. "My number came up? I thought the machine was destroyed" said a perplexed Harold?

"Against all the odds she survived and rebooted with her core code" said a now re-conscious Root.

Root tries to break free from her restraints as Sameen approaches her with a needle "really takes you back to the CIA safe house days, doesn't it sweetie" chirped Root.

And with that, Sameen Shaw drew the blood from Root's arm.

"Who are you, really" asked Harold?

"You guys, I'm Root, I can explain all of this" Root said.

"No, Root was killed by a Samaritan agent" remarked Shaw.

"No" Root said desperately shaking her head.

"They faked my death. I was shot, yes, and when they took me to the hospital Samaritan agents took over, brought me back from the edge of death" she explained.

"Bullshit, I saw Fruit Loops on the slab, dead and lifeless" quipped Lionel.

"Yes, and please stop interrupting me! Yes you saw me on the slab, they gave me a shot that would stop my heart for a few minutes. It was a fifty fifty shot that I'd survive it."

Catching her breath, Root continues "they faked my death, so they could torture me for the location of the machine, eventually they cut out my cochlear implant, and threw me in a deep dark hole in Sri Lanka, coincidentally the same place they put CONTROL, which by the way Caroline and I are in a good place now.

"I'm sorry, but no, the machine adopted Root's voice and even used her as its own physical manifestation, if what you say is true, why go through all that trouble" asked Harold?

"Harry, she needed, to convince all of you, if there was any doubt that I had died, she knew you all would use her to look for me. She took my voice and appearance, to remove any shred of doubt or reason to investigate further. It was for the greater good. Samaritan needed to be stopped, and a rescue mission would have resulted in all of your deaths, it chose the greater priority. Run my blood, and you'll find that I'm telling the truth, I'm Sam Groves" pleaded Root.

"Oh believe me, I will, Grace, I'm going to need your help to break into the Yale med building" remarked Shaw.

"Let me give you my key card", said Grace.

"Grace no, don't encourage her", said Harold.

"Oh come on honey, you know I love a good mystery", she said.

"I was at the grave, they dug it up, I saw the fresh dirt", Sameen said.

"The Machine sent Joey Durban and Harper to do it", Root retorted.

"I'll be back, this will take a while", Shaw commented.

"Sameen, you're wasting your time, I've already passed the most basic test", Sameen Shaw merely looked at her, their nonverbal communication was in sync.

Shaw didn't need to asks her to elaborate.

"What does your heart, tell you, Sameen" mused Root?

Lionel asks another question "Did you do that" pointing to and referring to the bullet hole.

"No, it was me, we needed to trigger your number. Sorry Harry, it's the rules of the game" said a mysterious man who now stands in the doorway.

Harold, Grace, and Lionel, all look at Root. Their body language all asks the same question. "Ask Shaw" Root says.

"Ms. Shaw, who is that man", Harold wonders.

"My cousin" she said.

"Everyone, meet Oded Shaw, former SEAL, and CIA", says Root.

"He rescued me and CONTROL, from that Sri Lankan hell hole, the past three months the three of us, have been doing work for the machine", says Root.

"I'm sure you've noticed a mysterious man on a motorcycle, Sameen. I needed Odie, to check up on you all, to be sure, it was really you guys, before we proceeded" said Root.

Sameen Shaw leaves the reunion, she takes the car and heads off to the Yale campus. close to an hour pases, and the team at the house ask questions, get re-aquatinted, and muse over what to do.

About fifteen minutes later Shaw returns "DNA confirms it, it is Root" she muses.

Detective Fusco walks over to the chair and cuts the zip ties, thus freeing Root. He remarks "Jesus Christ, Cocoa Puffs, it's a goddamn miracle or somethin."

Root stands up, "thank you Lionel."

"Now let us explain why we're here. Since Samaritan was disbanded, most of its followers were reassigned, except for a select few who have taken it upon themselves to continue its legacy", explained Root.

Oded Shaw then takes over, he pulls out a phone and shows them pictures of a familiar face! "You all know her as Claire Mahoney, Samaritan's shining star, with a chip on her shoulder. You and the LATE John Reese destroyed all she worked for, and now she's been working to refigure, Ice-9, and destroy your machine, and fit all of you with a toe tag"explains Oded.

"Why do you need me, and all of us" asked Harold?

"Because Harry, the machine's been crippled badly, and you and I, are going to rebuild it, expand her reach, and stop Claire, before she ushers in another dark age, and then all of us are going to stop her" Root explained.

She walks over to Sameen, and hugs her "why the long face baby? We're back."

* * *

The crew settled in at Harold and Grace's house. They reminisced and caught each other up, talked about John, then they all agreed to get started rebuilding the machine the next day. Then another couple of hours passed and it was bed time. The sleeping arrangements were agreed upon, and Lionel and Oded agreed to share a room. Sameen, however declined, much to Root's dismay, to share the room with her.

Root sat in her room on the bed with her door open, she was buried in a laptop. Shaw walked by to her room right across from Roots. Shaw snuck a quick glance, hoping Root wouldn't notice, she was still peering down at her laptop. Shaw reached her door handle.

"Come in here, we need to talk."

Shaw heaved a sigh, and turned around and walked into Root's room. "What do you want", Shaw said?

"Close the door", ordered Root.

As Shaw complies Root continues "I know this is a hard pill to swallow sweetie, and I know you're mad deep down, just know that " _she_ " did it to protect you."

Shaw gives a slight roll of her eyes "just go to sleep, you and Harold have a busy week ahead of you."

Root closes the laptop "I missed you too."

Sameen merely gives her a blank cynical stare.

Root looks her dead in the eyes "Why don't you just say it, Shaw?"

Sameen smirks and gives into her anger "you were gone 3 months Root! 3 months! John needed you, Harold needed you, Fusco needed you, and I-, the point is, when the critical moment came you weren't there."

Root merely looks at her "Sweetie, believe me, I never wanted that."

Shaw continues to lay into her "Stop with the sweetie, pet name bullshit, Root. There is no "us" and there never will be. All those times I let you kiss me, fuck me, hold me, ended up being for nothing, and what's worse is deep down somewhere, I was starting to give it a chance, I reciprocated, and even wanted the affection at times. I shed a tear for you Root, you got to me that much. Now I've realized that feelings only lead to pain, Root. Not the pain I enjoy, but the kind of pain that doesn't ever go away."

Root's eyes begin to water, "I know you missed me."

"No, Root, I got over it", shaw mouthed back.

Root stands up walks up to Sameen, and yanks down the part of her shirt, covering her shoulder, and looks at Shaw's tattoo, the tattoo of an arrow, both women stare at each other for several seconds.

"Don't think I didn't notice you wearing my leather jacket too, which by the way I want back, leather is my thing Sameen", retorts Root.

"Good night Root, get some sleep", is all Shaw says as she starts to walk away.

"10 minutes, you'll be back in 10 minutes, Sameen."

Sameen looks behind her and sees Root holding up 10 fingers as she mouths "10 minutes" with a devious smile on her face. Shaw storms off and walks back into her room.

 _5 minutes and 15 seconds, stop it, I'm not giving into that nerd, and letting her win._ Shaw mulled as she kept looking at the time. Sameen walks over onto her bed and sits down, she looks down at the time; 6 minutes. _Although...the sex always was incredible, the few times we did do it...It has_ _been little over three months since the last time I was able to get off. 7 minutes 25 seconds, No,_ _she needs to learn that her actions have consequences._

Shaw walks over to her door and goes to open it, but she stops herself and walks away from the door. _8 minutes, no, stop checking the time. Why does she have to be annoying and hot, why does this woman get to me?_ Shaw walks back to the door and then stops herself and walks back to the other side of the room, and keeps mulling _it's just sex, I'll just go to get off a few times, then I'll spend time torturing her. 9 minutes 40 seconds, here we go._ Sameen storms over to her door flings it open and walks across the hall and barges into Root's room!

Root is buried back in her laptop, but smiles acknowledges Sameen's presence "you made it, with twelve seconds to spare."

Shaw slams the door shut and walks over to Root's bed "shut up!"

Root let's out a devious smile and says "gentlemen start your engines."

The rest of the night went by with period crashes and thumps, and Harold having to assure Grace that the girls weren't fighting, then things settled down, and Root and Shaw's intimacy was quite tender and sweet and not as kinky as it had been known to be.

After several hours the two lay next to each other, completely exhausted. Root takes a huge risk and rolls over and wraps her arms around her beloved and proceeds to cuddle with her.

"I'll cut your throat, Root", Shaw whispers in her ear.

"Then do it if you hate it so much." And Sameen just gives in and appeases Root, and closes her eyes, and eases into sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone in Casa Walsh wakes up early to breakfast being served by Grace, and Harold. The crew discuss the next course of action, at the dinner table. Oded Shaw kicks off the conversation once Harold and Grace sit down. "Harry, not that vacationing on the New England countryside isn't on my bucket list, but you do realize that we'll have to bring this party back to NYC? The Machine is hubbed there, after all." Root sits down at the table with her plate "the government has given us an abandoned wear house, once we un-compress her, she'll have a lot of room to stretch out. They've even began shipping the servers." "Grace and I have spoken about it, and I'll help you un-compress it Miss Groves, and tweak it, but after that, I can't be involved in this life again", says Harold.

Lionel Fusco finishes his glass of juice and brings up the other elephant in the room "Where's Shaw"? "Sam's out working a number, Lionel. She took off hours ago, she's always hated being bored." The rest of the time is spent planning, strategizing, and then packing for the trip back to New York.

The Machine's focus shifts and zoom's across the town of New Haven, until it locks onto its asset. Sameen Shaw strolls around the New Haven streets. She gorges on an out of this world beef sub sandwich as she keeps a watchful eye on the young man about a block ahead of her. Shaw keeps following him and eating. The young man is Gordon Bishop, a promising grad student of Yale. After a good fifteen minutes of tailing, Shaw follows Bishop to the pier, the watch comes to an end after the Bishop quickly sprints under the boardwalk. The young man greets another college aged kid, they converse and the other student reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small plastic bag containing, what Shaw immediately recognizes as Cocaine. _It's always cocaine with these Ivy League twits._ Bishop's hands lunge towards the back of his pants as he pulls out a shiny 9 millimeter. Shaw beats him to the draw and unloads a cap in his knee. Gordon Bishop writhes in pain as Sameen walks over to him and his peer, and snatches the baggie of Colombian Dancing dust and flicks it in the ocean, then proceeds to walk towards Bishop and his stunned peer, she squats down in front of Gordon, still writhing in pain, "Gordon, from a former grad student to another, acquaint yourself with Adderall on those long winded study nights, makes a world of a difference." Shaw pats him on the shoulder then stands up and walks over to the supplier. Sameen pulls her gun back out and motions for him to run off, and without hesitation the supplier takes off. Sameen Shaw strolls off and leaves Gordon Bishop in anguish in the sand, he screams "You cunt, you fucking shot me, call an ambulance!" Sameen Shaw stops in her tracks and turns around ever so slightly "throw some salt on it, and you'll be fine." "Where the Hell would I find salt on this god forsaken beach", Gordon lamented. Shaw lets a twisted smile creep across her face "Tide's coming in, pretty fast." And with that Sameen continues her walk back up onto the boardwalk, she pulls out a carefully researched and crafted list of seafood hotspots on the pier and carries on towards the one at the top of her list. Her edge was back and one could almost say that Shaw was glowing for the first time in a long time.

Root had finished packing her luggage, and was in the process of finishing packing Sameen's bag. Root came across the last item, Sameen's leather jacket, her old jacket. _I suppose she can have it. Besides...the machine says Shaw has a closet full of my jackets. Baby really missed me._ Root proceeds to zip up Shaw's bag and fling the jacket over the shoulder. The machine said Sameen, would be back at the house in the course of a few minutes. She walked down the stairs of Harold and Grace's home and met up with the rest as Grace explained the travel arrangements "The two Sam's and Mr. Shaw will be in car A, and Harold, me, and Lionel are going to be in car B. Lionel, I hope you don't mind Katy Perry!" Grace laughs as she holds up a new Katy Perry CD, Fusco rolls his eyes. Harold who's standing next to Fusco leans over and says quietly "her music's pretty good." "Sam's missing out, she always had a thing for pop music", explained Oded. "Bullshit, Odie", said Root. "Fact, when she was fifteen I caught her belting it out to Toto's greatest hits." Everyone else chuckled as the walked out the door and over to their cars and loaded them up. Harold, Grace and Lionel took of and were en route to the airport, Root loads her suitcase into the trunk and as she closes it, is startled by Shaw, just standing there. "You have no idea how thrilling it is to sneak up on you." Root looked at her and smiled "you took off without saying goodbye." Sameen gives her a blank stare "are you the pot or the kettle?" "Sweetie, I said I was sorry. I meant what I said in the park months ago. I really can't live without you. Those three moths that I was gone, truly were the worst moments of my life. The only thing that kept me going was you, you were my safe place, and I promise I won't leave you again", Root said as she kissed Shaw. Shaw gives Root a neutral expression and Root gives Shaw her leather jacket back. "Hey Crimson and Clover, we're running behind, get in", said Oded. "Shotgun", Root cooed! All three slid into the car and took off. "If only we had a Toto CD, that would brighten your mood, darlin", Root purred. Sameen gave her cousin Oded a death glare, "I can't believe you told her that. I'm going to dismember you." "I bless the rains down in Africa", root sings playfully. Sameen purses her lips and leans back in her seat in defeat.

Both parties arrive at the airport, and board the private jet back to New York. The flight was only about an hour, and consisted of joking and exchanging pleasantries, and Grace and Sameen getting to know each other. The machine's omnipresent and omniscient gaze pans in on the subway station as the team sets foot in the headquarters of a god, for the first time in a long time. It was home sweet home and many memories both pleasant and painful for several members of the team.


	6. Chapter 6

"His name is Mason S-S-S", Harold couldn't finish without letting out a brief chuckle. He quickly composes himself, "forgive me, his name is Mason Spitz, 44, an ex con who has made his way down to New York."

"Humor is an unusual hat for you, Finch, what's so funny?", said a curious Sameen. Root, wheels her chair across the cold stone subway floor, as her curiosity is piqued as well. Her quick gaze at the monitor is followed by uncontrollable laughter.

Sameen Shaw exerted all of her will power to stifle a subtle smile from creeping across her face as she listened to Root laughing hysterically on the other end of her earpiece. She reverted back to her default stoic expression as she propped open the passenger door and buckled up as her and her cousin proceed to track down their number.

"Did you guys get ahold of nitrous oxide? Is that it, are you holding out on us", asked Oded Shaw.

Harold slides his chair to drown out the laughing lunatic next to him "I'm afraid not Mr. Shaw. Our number, Mr. Spitz has a rather peculiar criminal record." By this time Root's laughter has for the most part subsided. And Harold promptly swivels back over to his main desk to fill the Shaws in.

"Apparently, twenty years ago Mr. Spitz and a couple friends were enjoying themselves on a fishing trip up in Snoqualmie, Washington. His friend Alan Shipp, acquired a rather nasty snake bite and died as a result." Sameen turned to her cousin and they both gave each other a quizzical look.

"I still don't see what's funny", said Sameen.

Root pipes up "oh believe me Sameen it gets better."

Harold continues "Ms. Shaw the snakebite occurred on a rather sensitive part of Mr. Shipp's body."

Both Shaw's sit in the car with a smile about to creep across their faces, they know where this is going. "Oh so sneaky snake but him on his manhood", inquired Sameen?

"Correct", affirmed Harold.

"Now come on Harry, it's not that funny, you really got my hopes up", lamented Oded.

Back at the subway Root, chimes in "Mason refused to s-s-s-hehehe..." she starts laughing again but forces herself to power through it "he refused to suck out the p-poison, and his other friend took off and left Spitz and Shipp in the woods".

Two of the machine's assets began chuckling at various levels, all because their number's life was ruined because he refused to suck out the poison from the tip of his friend's manhood, and the friend died as a result. Oded Shaw is on the verge of tears and struggling to focus on his driving as they follow Mason Spitz. Sameen, on the other hand only let out a light chuckle and a rare, delighted smile.

"Finch, poison can't be sucked out, it's a myth", she said.

"I'm well aware Ms. Shaw, but you have to realize most Americans lack a basic understanding of science, and because of that, a minor snakebite snowballed into an involuntary manslaughter charge for Mr. Spitz?"

 _Snowballed?, he probably did a lot of that in prison_ , Root thought, then unable to control herself any longer began laughing so hard that she was on the verge of tears "hey Sameen, we should go camping sometime."

Sameen Shaw flicked off her earpiece, and reached for her drink in the cup holder.

"Boy, three rednecks go up into the woods for beer and fishing and..."

Oded Shaw cuts her off, "Hey Sam, guess what their favorite kind of beer is?"

Sameen takes a big drink from her soda and mumbles "hmmmm."

"Pabst Blew Everybody", said Oded. Sameen almost choked on her soda before she spit it out and started laughing so hard., not caring that she spit soda on the front of her shirt, as she was enjoying the moment to much.

* * *

The omniscient eye of the machine zooms out until the two yellow boxes sitting in a car, completely fade out. The focus zips across the city and hones in on two of its favorite assets stressed and exhausted as they pound away on their keyboards. With her eyes beginning to water from lack of blinking, a drawback of staring intently at a computer screen Root finally snaps out of La-La land and back into reality.

"Still reconfiguring Caleb's algorithm, I see", Root mused.

Harold, still focused on his monitor robotically reaches for his drink, and quickly quenches his thirst "I've managed to isolate, these six strands, I believe the key to reversing the compression lies inside one or more of these. Miss Groves, I think it would be beneficial to split these six up between us and try to crack it."

Root grabs her leather jacket and slips it over her body as she walks past Harold. "Rain Check it, Harry. I'm going to have to leave you. I'm having furniture delivered and someone needs to let them in my place."

 _Her place?_ The thought jolts Harold out of the cyberspace hypnosis that he's under. "Miss Groves, when could you have possibly had them time to find a place to live, let alone sign a lease?"

Root fiddles with her hair, and pulls it out from under her jacket, so as to let it flow over the back collar, then proceeds to turn around with her signature perky smile "You should know by now, I'm full of surprises, Harold."

As the perky psycho leaves she passes Grace, who has returned from walking Bear, both of whom make an immediate B-line for Harold, and Root watches Grace and Harold laughing and carrying on in a way that would seem like nothing else in the world mattered, those two were each other's whole world, and that brought a smile to Root's face as she finally exited the lair, however the smile was short lived as anxiety mixed with a little envy overpowered her on her walk.

Like clockwork the gaze of the ASI, refocuses on Sameen and her cousin as both of them stroll hurriedly out of a generations old corner pawnshop, both of them lunge in the car, eagerly, because the look on their faces indicate, that they've finally solved a crucial part of this case.

Oded Shaw flick his ear and asks a question he already knows the answer to, "Sam or Harold...by any chance does Spitz's friend...the one that bailed on him in the woods, all those years ago, does he live in New York City?"

Finch minimizes the black code screen, and pulls up another tab as his fingers perform a few quick rhythmic taps on his keyboard, quickly pulling up the information. "It's just me, Ms. Groves had some personal matters to attend to...and yes it would appear so, although Mark Conway doesn't live here, he is on work related business. Why what are you two postulating?"

Sameen interrupted "Personal matters? What personal..."

Oded made a quick stop talking motion with his hand and cut Sameen off.

"It seems our number is the perpetrator after all. Spitz has Conway fitted for a toe tag, revenge for him leaving his friends in the woods and being humiliated and sent to prison."

"Conway, is currently scheduled to speak at the Convention center, go now you two, and to answer your question Miss Shaw, Miss Groves is having furniture delivered to her home."

 _Home? Furniture?_ "Hey Harold, just outta curiosity what is she having delivered", said Sameen?

"I really shouldn't pry into her private life Miss Shaw."

"Finch". Shaw says with a dangerous sternness.

Harold decides not to test her patience, he really is no match for her, and would rather not cross her, with ease he pulls up a second tab on the monitor "it seems Miss Groves is having a king sized bed delivered, and a very nice state of the art hot tub." _Hot tub? Damn now I have to go over there._

"Thank you", she said gratefully.

Both Shaw's speed off en route to the convention center, it's a good twelve blocks away from their current location, just long enough for tense conversation. "So...how long have you and Sam been a thing", asked Oded?

"We aren't a thing Oded". Shaw quickly quipped.

"You love her though." Oded remarked.

Sameen took a deep breath almost trying to convince herself of what she's about to say, "I'm a sociopath, you know I don't have feelings."

"You know, you say that Sam, but your actions have always spoken louder than your words, I remember years ago helping you study for those MCATS, you were so determined to pass, you know why", Oded inquired?

Sameen gave her signature eye roll, but then strangely looked away from him.

"I guess because...I wanted the challenge, it was quite a thrill to be a doctor", she lamented.

Oded takes a drink from his soda, he's so confident because he knows he's beating her in this mental chess game, he sets the soda cup down with an air of finesse, and resumes his questioning "I think it's more than that, you wanted to be a doctor to atone for the guilt you've always had for not feeling bad about your father's death".

Sameen quickly twists and snaps at him "DON'T you bring him into this!"

"The point is Sameen, you do have a heart, and you do love Root. You may have trouble expressing your emotions but just do little things for her, here and there, just...subtle things."

Sameen closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as she pursed her lips and gritted her teeth, she really dreads talking about feelings, but now it's inevitable.

"I...I don't...think I can. She deserves better, though, someone who can love her back." Sameen Shaw says, with a subtle hint of regret in her voice.

"Sam...sometimes love is a choice. It's waking up beside a person everyday and thinking 'yeah, I'll stay', you know I'm never wrong, you and Sam are made for each other. Remember Oz didn't give the tin man what he didn't already have", said her cousin trying to comfort and reassure her.

The last few minutes were plagued by an awkward silence as both Shaw's happened upon the convention center. Sameen knew he was right, he was always right, as far back as she could remember Oded was the analytical one, his uncanny intuition and observational skills bordered on superhuman. The car jerks as it comes to a stop, the silence now has to be broken as they need to strategize. Sameen agreed to take the inside, while Oded agreed to watch the outside as he reasoned that since the convention was letting out, either Conway, or Mason Spitz would have to pass him on the way out.

Sameen Shaw stealthed around the convention center in her reptilian way. Obsessively searching for their number, as she scans every area imaginable from the corners of escalators, to air vents, the skywalk, and just about every area the mind could conceive of hiding.

 _Your actions have always spoken louder than your words_ , and here she is risking everything to potentially save a life. An authoritative voice quickly jolts her back to reality.

"Northeast door, now", Oded expounded!

So without hesitation Sameen breaks into a sprint and rushes towards the northeast door, not caring that she's practically mowed down ten people, what does unnerve her is the unmistakable gunshot that rings out!

Oded Shaw has Mason Spitz pinned down on the ground as a startled and panicked crowd rushes by.

As Sameen meets up with them, she assesses the situation, in that she observes that neither Oded, Spitz, and whom she assumes is Conway is shot. "Did he miss", she wondered?

"Oh yeah, bastard didn't even get close."

The next twenty minutes required an awkward conversation that neither Shaw wanted to have to explain to the police or Mr. Conway. But it all paid off as Sameen snuck over to Mason Spitz as he was being ushered into the police car, normally this wouldn't be allowed, but since the lead officer on the scene happened to be Lionel Fusco, the red tape was removed.

Shaw walks up to Spitz as he's being put into the squad car "Now Mason, whatever you do, don't tell them what you're in for, or that you're last name is Spitz. Take care Lockjaw."

She pats him on the shoulder as he mutters and sputters inside the squad car.

* * *

A familiar face startles her as she turns around. "Payback, sweetie", Root coos and smiles. "I'm still the master of sneaking up on you."

"It's easy to be a master when you have a robot overlord whispering in your ear", Sameen quipped.

"Now Sam, play nice", Root whispers seductively in Shaw's ear.

"Skip the flirtatious banter, Root. I want first dibs on your new hot tub", _just do little subtle things for her_ , she remembered. "And...maybe later we can christen it and your new bed later tonight."

Root smiled, from ear to ear, yet it was short lived as her mind jumped back to Harold and Grace. "Actually Sameen, I don't want sex."

Shaw immediately reached behind her ear to feel the smooth scar that Samaritan left her, she had to make sure this wasn't a simulation as Root would never say that, but it was a useless endeavor.

This was real, and Root stood behind Shaw and wrapped her arms around her minuscule body, and continued "I just want...to spend time with you. No stolen moments, now that we're not on borrowed time anymore, I just want...you, to be around you. I know it's difficult for you Sam, and I would never want you to change, but every now and then I hope we could do something nice, like go to dinner, or see a movie, sweetie."

Shaw took a deep breath, and Root could feel the weight of her question and Shaw's reaction based on the deep inhale and exhale that she felt as she was holding Sameen.

Sameen mulled it over in her head, she was a warrior, and would never really be good at this sort of thing, but Root hacked her subconscious long ago, and something about the way she asked in that sweet endearing tone made Sameen consider it.

"Root...there's always a mission," Shaw said as she turns around and senses the sadness beginning to creep up in Root, "but...Ceresoli's is a new Italian dive, that I've had on my list for a while, I suppose we could go for a while...and grab some dinner."

Root was delighted and she flashed a smirk at Shaw, that required no further explanation, and the both proceeded to head en route.

Root smiled "you're still not going near my hot tub, that thing is mine."

Sameen never turned around but, with a devious smile said "I have my ways of convincing you."

As both women walked together several blocks to enjoy a nice dinner together.


	7. Chapter 7

A loud echoing staccato emanating from high heeled shoes infects the air of the subway headquarters. Yet to Harold Finch it came as a massive relief as he had unfortunately exhausted himself attempting to wrestle a shoe out of Bear's mouth, while Grace tried to distract the dog, by pouring his food. For a while it seemed like the classic blind leading the blind scenario. Both of them felt a wave of relief as Bear relinquished the shoe and zipped across the room as Root and Sameen arrived and strolled across the cold stone Subway floor together.

The older couple noticed something different about them, Root seemed more luminous than usual almost as if she was on the verge of gliding across the floor, and Shaw possessed that rare once in a blue moon look as if she was actually glowing.

"Wow, Sameen, you're glowing, what put that spring in your step", Grace wondered?

Root, hearing the question from across the room, doesn't even bother to look up as she smirks while patiently setting her black bag down and settles into her snug leather computer chair.

"Three of the most incredibly therapeutic jets in Root's new hot tub. I'm serious Grace, my two year back injury is gone", answered Sameen. _That wasn't the only thing the jets did to put a smile on your face, and well mine too_ Root joyfully reminisced, but some things are better left unsaid.

Grace smirked and turned to Harold, who chuckled while pulling out his wallet and taking out twenty dollars. "Pay up Mr. Smarty Pants".

Harold shook his head and reluctantly forked over the bill to Grace. Root and Shaw both gave the couple a quizzical look, "oh, Grace and I had a bet going as to whether or not Miss Groves would give in, and allow you to use her new hot tub."

"Really Harold, you of all people should know better than to gamble on a forgone conclusion" Sameen says as she walks over to Root's desk.

Grace quickly interjected "you'd think that Sam", but he said ' _now I'm sure Miss Groves won't relent that quickly, she hasn't even had it one night'_ Grace said while doing her best impression of her fiancé.

Sameen slowly sunk down in a chair and swiveled, not right next to Root but little over arms length as to watch her apply her profound coding skills. About and hour and a half passed by, the silence was unbearable. The obsessive and erratic clicking of the keyboards was the only sound present throughout the room. It plagued and tormented the shorter woman. Pain, torture, or the utmost strenuous physical endurance that could push a person well past their limitations and well past their breaking point was what the ex soldier could handle, not boredom.

After spending the better part of a year being held captive in a facility, across the globe by one of the most sinister beings to have ever existed, Sameen couldn't help but fall victim to the idea that her will may just be indomitable. Oh boy, was she wrong. The perpetual clickety clack clack of two separate keyboards forced her eyes to wander towards her own backside. Sameen seriously considered removing her own kidney and making a deal with the devil to sell it if it will grant her a reprieve from this boredom. She should be out saving lives, or ruining them in the most morally gray way she can.

"How much longer until Big Sis is modified?"

Her impulsive blurt was meant for her, well, whatever Root was to her, but much to Sameen's chagrin the reply came from across the quiet room.

"Miss Groves and I have reconfigured the compression algorithm, yet we cannot decrypt these six strands of code. They're among the most challenging I've ever come across", said Harold.

Sameen hunched over and dipped her head down, resting them on her hands. A brisk fifteen seconds must have passed by before Shaw's head shot back up, and turned to Root. "You two can decrypt anything".

Root, didnt even turn around but smiled and said loud enough for Shaw to hear "True, I decrypted you after all".

Sameen's expression remained neutral, she couldn't really react. She walked right into that one and served it up, and true to form, Root went for it. There's a rhythm to these things after all. _We represent a dynamic_ came flooding back into Shaw's mind, followed by her own rapid _oh shut up._

* * *

Thirty three minutes had swiftly breezed by before the last words were spoken. From the perspective of those inside the cold, damp, bleak headquarters the monotony might last for several more days. Or maybe not, as the monotony was interrupted by two clanks followed by a frenzied and excited pattern of footsteps descending down the stairwell. Footsteps that half a second later produced a tall familiar form, the form of Oded Shaw, who in that moment seemed to be a godsend to Sameen.

"Harry and 2 Sam 2 Furious, I've finally stumbled upon something major. Where's the chalkboard?"

All three of them looked up and Sameen rose to her feet in the direction of the glassboard as Harold was busy replying. "Mr. Shaw, its not exactly a chalkboard, but a glass one, over there, where Miss Shaw is retrieving it."

Sameen wheels the board in the main part of the subway platform, in plain view of all the occupants, and now Root's interest has been piqued, and she too rises up and strolls over to stand by the love of her life, her trademark hip swaying in full effect.

Oded retrieves a dry erase marker and proceeds to gather the essential materials to explain his discovery, then a minute later begins franticlly scrawling over the board and taping pictures onto it. "Now, today's number, long story short had connections to Massimo Parveccio", Oded turned to a confused Root, "He's the one who took over after Carl Elias died, its a shame, I think we'd all rather prefer Elias, anyway, the number was a low level associate who was contracted to kill a whistle blower from the trucking company, that ship's Parveccio's drugs, to Sri Lanka, apparently Parveccio has connections to the Rhiadi crime family."

"Oded, this is important...why", inquired Sameen?

"Because it made me realize something, you see when I rescued Sam from the Sri Lankan prison she was thrown into, we were caught in the midst of a gang war upon fleeing, the previous crime bosses had been deposed by Samaritan's operatives, and the territory was ripe for the picking, turns out the Rhiadi's won the bid. Now I know you're trying to follow this, so let me cut to the chase: Samaritan toppled several organized crime syndicates all over the globe, all those regime changes got the ball rolling in my mind, and i had to research this. With all of these crime syndicates out of the way, and their assets liquidated, where did the money go"?

Sameen, Root, Harold, and even Grace had the same profound epiphany simultaneously. Their body langue indicated to Oded to press onward.

"Decima technologies, and by extension Samaritan, recieved their main source of funding through the liquidation of the assets of most of the world's crime syndicates. It's quite possible Claire, managed to siphon or recover some of the cash flow to fund her operation".

Grace was the first one to overcome the awe and break the silence. "That would mean...she has to have somewhere to do this, somewhere private."

Harold joined in, "take it from me, a cash flow of that magnitude would buy a person unfathomable anonymity. It's quite likely Miss Mahoney acquired a secluded facility somewhere, and hired a small crew to help her code, and assist her in her crusade."

"So you and Root use your Cyber-Fu and follow the money trail and search for abandoned facilities that were purchased recently" Sameen ordered.

Root heaved a light sigh and gave a slightly condescending smile "Sweetie, it's not that easy, remember SHE is only running on core principals, so her gaze is limited until we crack these codes and she can stretch out and expand"

Oded Shaw's head perked up and his attention honed in on Root. "You and Harold still haven't re-figured the algorithm?"

"Afraid not, Odie."

Oded Shaw finished his scrawling on the board, snapped the cap back on the marker, and rushed over to Root's tech fortress with a sense of impatience. Harold and Root's eyes widened as they both exchanged worrying glances at each other and together they along with Sameen and Grace, scurried a few yards over to Root's desk. The ex CIA operative calmly sat down and reached for the keyboard, before his hand has agressivley shoved away by a worried Root.

"Might I ask what you're doing, Odie"?

Sameen quickly gave the taller woman's arm a light grab and pulled her away, so that the taller woman's attention would be focused on her. "Root...do you trust me?"

"With my life Sameen", Root commented without any hesitation.

"Then trust me, let him do this."

* * *

The perky ex assassin immediately stepped back and proceeded to grant Oded Shaw access to her keyboard. A grateful Oded merely gave her a nod of approval before he began typing rappidly, after a few tense seconds he turns to look at the anxious group of people behind them and address them "You see...I've always fancied myself as a bit of a Mycroft Holmes. Normally, I would let you two do your thing, but it's been almost a week and time is a luxury we cant abuse anymore."

All of the machine's favorite acolytes watched in awe as the Persian man immersed himself in the strands of code. He applied a type of Cyber-Fu never before witnessed by Harold Finch or Sam Groves. It almost seemed surreal and close to frightening as the man before them reconstructed a god.

Harold's overwhelming curiosity got the best of him "Mr. Shaw...I must ask...how are you doing this? I've never seen algorithms and coding like this before".

"Ehhh I know this visionary German programmer Carl Bugenhagen, he created this constant, The Bugenhagen Constant, that comes in handy on occasion."

Low and behold the formula works and the black code screen starts fluttering and generating more code at a defying pace.

"My God..he did it", exclaimed a stunned Harold.

The five of them gazed in awe as the ASI repaired itself. The Playstations comprising the subway supercomputer began exploding in rapid unison, as electricity crackled.

"She's off to her new home", Root declared giddily.

Sameen Shaw tilted her head and proceeded to shoot Root a confused look "what new home?"

"A small isolated warehouse outside of Bend, Oregon! There she can finally stretch out and expand."

* * *

The blinking red light on the small CCTV camera perched up near the Subway rafters, ceases it's blinking as the omniscient gaze of the benevolent ASI fades away on the image of the Planet's bravest warriors as it's focus internalizes. Millions upon millions of small boxes zip and zoom in every conceivable direction, and tens, hell, hundreds of thousands of windows materialize as every conceivable moment from every microphone, camera, and media file becomes archived and recorded in the infinite abyss of data.

 _searching_ _primary target Claire Mahoney..._

 _admin inquiry..._

 _..._

Like clockwork Big Sister methodically begins scanning thousands of locations wherein Claire or anyone fitting her description and vital statistics could be located, within milliseconds millions of files, records, and video are sorted and categorized.

 _Istanbul, Turkey November 18, 2015..._

 _00.03.18 second audio Naples, Italy December 2015..._

 _...pem_

 _..._

 _Primary target located_

 _ **Zinthos Island, Greece...**_

 _36.006 lat 26.460 lon_

 _...10.13 sq mi_

The all seeing eye of Big Sister pans in on the image of a small secluded island in the Aegean Sea. Slowly and slowly zooming in to reveal an imposing ominous facility.

The omniscient pov hones in on the figure of a bold ruthless idealistic twenty something woman pacing back and forth behind several rows of computers, all of the seats occupied by employees working tirelessly.

Claire Mahoney took a bite from a bright green apple and smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

"You know, if I can beat a supercomputer in chess, not once , but three times, then its quite feasible that you, can help me finish my crusade. If Samaritan had to die, so must The Machine", expounded the young arrogant prodigy as she sat on the edge of a desk, munching on an apple while watching her team of associates add the finishing touches to the now reconfigured Ice-9 virus.

Claire herself, could finish up the project, but she would consider it too tedious, and someone somewhere, must see to it that Samaritan doesn't die in vain, so it was one or the other, step up into the leadership position, or work on the front lines. Oh hell, she doesn't even believe that really, a great leader can do both, the real reason is quite relateable, she would rather be in charge. There's really no other person qualified nor committed enough to lead this fringe rebellion.

"I hate to be that guy, Claire, but the occasion calls for it. Have you decided, what you plan on calling your glorified EMP", wondered Stefan, one of Claire's associates?

"Ice-10 really comes of as derivative and uninspired, so we're going with Ice-X."

Murmurs and approving clamors resonated from the half dozen member crew. Not just over the name of their pet project, but due to the fact that within close to five minutes the fruits of several grueling months labor will be finished and a devastating virus, will unleash a digital Armageddon upon the world, that at least in their radical minds, doesn't deserve salvation.

The festivities are short lived however as several alarming pings registered, and the control room is rendered silent. Claire slinks off the edge of the desk chair that she was sitting on "What could that possibly be?"

Stefan, applying an impressive showing of Cyber-Fu pulls it up on the main screen for the room to see. "Apparently an L J-45 stopped in Tirana, to refuel and is making a bee-line towards Kos Island, my g..." Claire cuts him off "You thought that was important"?

Stefan heaves an annoyed sigh and resumes "You don't understand Claire, eyewitnesses reported that the plane took off without a pilot and was being steered without one, yet several people saw three people board the jet. There's an eyewitness video of the ghost plane, making its rounds on YouTube. Apparently an Albanian crew member shot this on his phone."

The color drains from the young adult woman's face, a brief bout of panic begins to set in, and she shoots Stefan a troubled look. All the lackey does is nod and proceeds to air the footage on the big screen for the entire room to see. The rebellious group views the footage with the same awestruck look followed by them all robotically turning to their leader for answers.

"Yes, it's The Machine, you all are foolish if you think that this means our defeat is imminent."

The diabolical young prodigy, paces around for a minute, mulling over her next plan of action. Claire heaves an annoyed sigh and with an agitated look on her face turns back around and faces her crew. "It looks like we have no choice, Ice-X will be completed within a minute or so, we'll have no choice but to deploy it."

A worried hacker makes a bold move and confronts her over the decision "Is that wise, we haven't even tested it?"

"At this point what alternative do we have, they've left Albania, so that gives them roughly ninety minutes before they reach Kos, then it's only a stone's throw away from this island, within minutes they'll land here and shoot all of my hard work to hell. If you have a more ingenious suggestion please, speak up."

Her associate said nothing, and retreated back to his chair.

"It's ready", Stefan shouted.

"Excellent wait until they're about fifteen minutes outside of Kos, then deploy it, the later we catch them off guard, the less they have time to escape. And Stefan rewind that footage, freeze on the image of the two women at the Albanian airport."

Stefan and the rest of the crew frantically follow their fanatical leader's orders, without the slightest hint of hesitation. The footage is replayed and frozen on a single frame, which showed the faces of two brunette women boarding the "ghost plane". Rapid clicks resonate and the image is enhanced and zoomed in upon. The faces catch Claire off guard and her associates notice a wave of worry begin to consume her. "You know them don't you", one of them asks?

Claire stares at the screen all while walking towards a computer. Her legs shake and her walking is frantic, but nonetheless once she sit's in an empty chair she manages to regain a little composure. Her fingers rapidly pound away on the keyboard before an image is pulled up on screen. "The tall one, is Samantha Groves, one of the more fanatical acolytes of The Machine, I met her once little over a year ago, and the psycho bitch nearly killed me. Everything, I've heard, about her, said that she was killed, a Samaritan recruit was thought to have fatally shot her, but I guess rumors of her demise have been exaggerated. This may seem to be a difficult concept to grasp, but don't let your incompetence get the best of you, she's incredibly lethal and brilliant."

Claire proceeds to wait about ten seconds so that her team can process the information. The young woman pulls up the next image on screen. "Now this on the other hand is Sameen Shaw. Samaritan, held her captive, she never broke, and to top it all off, she's the only person to ever escape our custody. Expect her to be armed and extremely dangerous. I've never met her, but Greer did occasionally brief me about the data, they gathered on her. If you should come into contact with her, or Groves, please try to take them alive and bring them to me, I have a plan for both of them."

The group of rebels all grabbed their bags and provisions and prepared for the worst, plan B was now in effect. The next hour was spent scrambling, loading guns and planning meticulously for the upcoming invasion.

* * *

On a century old Paris boulevard, walks a slender man in a blue suit, as he slides into the backseat of a state of the art limo. The tall man, who to some would appear to be shady, pulls out his state of the art smart phone and proceeds to scroll through the contents. The vehicle drives away at a moderate pace down the beautiful city streets. At random a voice hijacks the frequency of the radio and speakers inside the vehicle. The voice startles the smug well dressed man as he likely never expected to hear that soft spoken authoritative voice again. _"Blue suit's a nice touch Logan, but I always preferred the standard black one._ " Logan Pierce would swear his heart skipped a few beats.

"John...is that you"?

 _Afraid not Pierce. 99.6% approximation will have to do._

The tech billionaire looked around and was horrified to discover that the limo was being auto-piloted. He leaned back in his seat, and proceeded to pour a glass of scotch.

"Well this is new, I wish you'd do that more often. What calls for this occasion."

 _Slight change of plans Pierce, we're making a pit stop at the airport. You need to make your way to Greece. I'll provide you with further instruction once you're in the air._

* * *

"Ohhhhh fuuck" Sameen Shaw arches her back digging it into the cold, ruthless edge of the sink. The Persian woman's body is shaking as she rides out a powerful orgasm. Her hands tighten and her nails dig into Root's scalp as she enters the homestretch. Root lets Sameen catch her breath for a few seconds as she works through the endorphin rush.

"Welcome to the Mile High club, honey."

Sameen tries her best to stifle a smile. "meh, it was alright."

"I beg to differ, because from down here it sure does look like a Capri Sun exploded." Root cooed with a devious smile as Shaw helped her back upright, Both of them share a shameful smile as they walk back out into the cabin of the Learjet.

"Well that sure hit the spot", Root said as her and the shorter woman rejoined and sat next to Oded who stirred and set down his edition of the London Guardian.

The team will be over Kos island in approximately twenty minutes. Everyone is alarmed when all systems shut down on the plane, all electronic devices fail.

"SIRI what the hell is going on" shouted Sameen?

Panic consumes Root, who in that second bursts out of her seat and heads toward the cabin. "Sam, Odie, She's gone. I can't hear her at all. Someone..." but in that moment a huge impact rocks the small jet, an impact so profound it causes an engine to explode and a massive hole in the cabin.

The team struggle to ground themselves as the plane looses altitude rapidly. Parachutes, food, the majority of their guns and other weapons fly out of the plane. While secured Oded, manages to grab one parachute before its whisked away.

"How did they know we're coming", yelled Sameen?

"I doooon't know, Sweetie they're built on an old weapons factory, maybe they have radar."

With every ounce of vigor and determination The Machine manages to relay a garbled message via intercom

 _Primm...asset g...et to S...fty/_  
 _/A/horities...notified_

"Both of you, take this chute, it should put you within the path of Zinthos Island. Stop Claire", Shouted Oded as he tosses the parachute with all his strength to his cousin.

Sameen struggles to fit the parachute onto Root as the plummeting intensifies, glass strikes her hand, and almost knocks her secure grip out of whack. But at the last second Shaw manages to secure it onto Root.

"We won't leave you behind Oded", Root screamed.

The older Shaw pulled and wrestled his way up towards the nose of the plane as he tried to make his way towards the cockpit. "Some...one...has to steer...this fucking box, away from...the city."

Those were the final words he spoke to Sameen and Root as he kicked at them, watching them be whisked out of the plane in the blink of an eye. Oded Shaw shimmied his way to the cockpit and closed the door. It was a slight relief to be free of the loss of cabin pressure, but the victory needed to be short lived as he pulled the steering column with all his might to deter it away from Kos Island, where it's free of causing civilian casualties.

* * *

Suspended thousands of feet in the air in a controlled downward glide, Root and the love of her life watch on horror as the small Learjet slams and slides on the surface of the Aegean Sea, but Oded isn't Captain Sully, and his fate is most likely grim. Neither of them can bring themselves to speak as they glide towards Zinthos Island.


	9. Chapter 9

_Twenty five feet._

Root would swear her whole body is shaking, it scares her because she usually possesses nerves of steel. It's not like the landing is a precarious one, they've got plenty of ground. Had Sameen, been attached to the parachute, the landing would be smooth and calculated.

 _10 feet_

"Root, listen to me, you need to hit the ground runn..."

Within a matter of seconds, both women crash into the ground, rolling and tumbling as wet dirt and blood fuse together in their mouths. Root takes the worst of it as she finally lands on her side. Dislocating her shoulder.

Gritting her teeth and squirming in pain, Root regretfully passes up the innuendo to plea with Sameen on top of her.

"Aghhh, Pleeeeeeaseee tell meee you can cut us loose."

"Ok Root, I can cut us loose."

Shaw rifles through her pockets, looking for something, anything. She fingers a small Swiss army knife. Powering though the pain, Shaw digs her fingernail against the warm rigid edge of the knife and flicks the blade out. It's a two inch blade, and its better than no knife at all, yet it still won't make the tedious process of cutting through the straps any easier.

The former marine, rolls off of the taller woman, and staggers to her feet, almost stumbling over in the process.

After finding her balance, Shaw reaches down and grabs Root, by her good arm, and yanks her into the upright position.

"Well, that really hit the spot", Sameen said. Her tone seeped in sarcasm.

"I think I disclocated my shoulder, Sam."

"You did; move over there, lean against the rocks."

Out of curiosity Root staggers over to a rock formation, the whole time wondering if Shaw has a plan or if this is some sort of new kinky stress relieving exercise, before they save the world. Root comes to a stop and forces herself to lean against the largest rock.

Sameen steps up behind her, "I need to reset it. This is going to hurt, quite a bit."

"Nothing we haven't done before, Doctor Shaw." Root's voice goes full liquid in that statement as Shaw uses her muscles and pops Root's shoulder back into place. Birds fly away because the scream is so loud.

Root falters, but Sameen catches her and guides her into a sitting position then follows suit once Root is settled down against the rocks.

"Inventory Check", Shaw commanded.

"All I've got is ahhhhhhrggh", Root tries to reach in her pocket but her sore shoulder wont allow it, the perky psycho closes her eyes and grits her teeth while she quickly reaches into her pocket. "this taser."

The ex ISA agent sitting next to her lets out an annoyed chuckle and leans her head back. Sameen shakes her head and reaches into her pockets and shows Root the contents. "So one gun and twelve rounds, and this stupid knife, This is all we have Root."

"They knew we were coming...how?" Root inquired.

"It doesn't matter now. You can't reach go-bot at all?"

Root opens her eyes back up and looks at her girlfriend. "No, they've deployed the virus, I think."

"But you can stop it, right"?

Root reaches into her pocket and pulls out the most hardcore flash drive Shaw, has ever laid eyes upon. "If we catch it, early, then I can transfer it onto here, otherwise we're fucked once it goes over 40 percent luckily, signal strength isn't as powerful out in the middle of the sea."

"Break time's over." Shaw stands up and helps Root to her feet.

"Stay close to me at all times. We do this very carefully, they're most likely prepared, even if they aren't we can't chance it. Once the coast is clear, we'll break in." Marine Shaw has taken over now.

"We should split up, Sam."

Sameen quickly cocks her pistol and aims it at her head. "No! You stay with me at all times. Root, I swear to god, If you split, I'll put one in my head. Got it?!"

Root's eyes widen and she rushes over to the love of her life. Breathing frantically and on the verge of tears she grabs the shorter woman's arm, and lowers it, with no resistance from Shaw. Sameen was serious about not wanting to be separated again, and Root couldn't blame her, the last time Shaw forced her to split up, both of their world's came to a crashing halt.

"Please don't you ever scare me like that again". Root begged.

Shaw lowered her gun, this was part of her plan. They were not going to separate again, under any circumstances

"Then do as I say."

The former marine continued on with their battle strategy. "Use the taser only if you must. Since I have the only gun, I'll make sure the coast is clear for each hall and room we enter. I shoot someone, then you can take their gun, and we can cover each other and go all John Woo on their asses, but until then you stay behind me at all times. I mean it Root. We do this very carefully."

"My brave little soldier." Root coos and bats her eyes, she loves it when Sam takes control of the situation.

"Come on, We don't have much time. We need to get in there and stop this thing."

* * *

Ten minutes pass and both women hike up to a more secluded area of the facility, patiently they wait until they see an opening. Shaw high tails it inside and Root follows close behind her.

For every light panel that was on, two were off, Root gathered that they must be on some sort of reserve power in the facility. How the hell that's possible, is irrelevant to her at the moment. Root and Shaw sneak along the hallways of the ominous facility. The low lighting was eerily similar to the lighting situation in the stock exchange years ago, and it wasn't just the lighting, but the facility shared the same foreboding sense of doom. Ignoring her intuition, Root vigourously buries the uneasy feelings down. She's with Shaw, and they'll always be safe with each other. Using the reflections of the knife blade, Shaw checks around every corner hoping that the coast is clear, before they proceed. It amazes Root, because she's never seen Sameen this cautious before. _She'll never admit it, but she can't lose me again._

Shaw stops abruptly and raises the knife blade a second time to double check down the next corridor. _Two hostiles._ The former soldier reaches into her pocket, and grabs a rock and throws it down the hallway, catching the attention of one of the goons. The man strolls down the corridor to investigate while the other one stays behind as cover.

Both Root and Shaw look at each other, no need for words between them, their nonverbal communication is in sync. Both ready themselves as the man is close to approaching the corner they're hiding around. Within seconds the tall, man reaches the intersection of the hallway, spots the intruders, but before he can utter a sound, Shaw unloads two bullets in him. Two to make absolute sure, he was dead. They can't afford any surprises. Their greatest ally, their god, is benched at the moment.

"Grab Him!" Shaw screams at Root. Root complies as Sameen engages in a very brief shootout with the man at the other end of the hall.

Root drags the other man to their side, and routinely steals his gun and extra clips.

Picking up his radio and taking cover the other man pleas for assistance. "Claire, intruders. I think it's Groves and Shaw. Hurry!"

* * *

Close to a thousand yards away, Claire Mahoney springs into action. She motions for Stefan and one other assistant to follow her. The rest of the crew, the young woman commands to spread out and find the intruders.

"Stefan, Nico, come with me."

All three sprint off in the opposite direction.

As they hurry Claire continues to dish out orders "Stefan, take this taser, Nico, this is a powerful sedative, Please please don't fuck this up. Listen to me, both of you, Groves and Shaw's greatest weakness is their feelings for each other. We'll use that to our advantage. Hurry up, you both know what to do."

* * *

The Persian and the perky psycho smile and face each other from both sides of a corridor. Arousal is flooding their internal systems right now and its taking every ounce of willpower for them to stay focused, they burst around the corner and begin firing rapidly at assailants in the John Woo style Sameen promised. Bullets zip past them, failing to hit them as they encroach closer and closer to their intended target, until the young assailant is helplessly backed into a corner and finally eliminated.

The two woman follow this cover and strike tactic, eliminating most of Claire's crew until they finally reach the residential quarters.

Root's eyes happen among one of the most simplistic and cliched sights ever. A small sign on a door which reads "Claire's Office." Sameen glances at the sign then Root and rolls her eyes. Both open the unlocked door and stroll right in. Root's sight intermediately hones in on the master computer at the desk.

Sam Groves drops everything and begins doing what she does best. At the terminal she puts her fingers to work on the keyboard, to combat the Ice-X virus.

 _15%_ _and still loading, I need to hurry,_ Root panicked.

Sameen on the other hand begins to explore Claire's massive office. She begins inspecting, there's a huge strange looking door, a door that she needs to open and inspect, the massive bookcase, Claire's own personal library, Shaw assumed. Continuing she eyes an object on the wall, that manages to distract her; breaking her stoic expression.

Shaw's meandering temporarily breaks Root's concentration, as the perky woman watches her girlfriend drag a chair across the room, and park it next to a large metal locker. "What _are_ you doing, Sam?"

Shaw stands on the chair and marvels at the weapon hanging on the wall, her awe lasts a few seconds before, she regains the ability to speak. "Look at this, this dagger has to be 13th or 14th century. Root, I am totally stealing this.

Before Root can respond the metal locker door flings open and Nico sticks Shaw with the sedative. The short woman falters as Root lunges out of the desk chair, running towards Sameen. Without any hesitation the tall Psycho unloads a bullet in Nico as she drops to the floor to tend to the needs of the most important person in the whole world to her.

"Sameen, Sameen! Stay with me sweetie." Root's voice breaks at the plea.

Unbeknownst to her, though out from behind the mysterious door, the one Shaw deemed suspicious, Stefan slowly creeps up to Root and gives her the full blast of his taser, effectively rendering her incapacitated.

* * *

The Persian woman wakes up on a cold tile floor. Groggily she focuses on the bright lights. A massive headache and the after effects of being sedated hinder her senses as she struggles to make sense of the situation she's in. Once the sociopath comes too, her eyes lock onto Root zip tied to a chair a few yards away from her. Sameen quickly braces herself, and pulls herself upright. The room is some sort of make shift interrogation room, the kind you'd see on a television show. On the steel table the woman notices a taser and the medieval era dagger she was admiring earlier.

Looking at Root with utmost confusion, Root points her head in a direction which Shaw failed to look.

Sameen Shaw stares directly at the barrel of a fully loaded Glock being pointed directly at her from across the room. With a deranged, sadistic smile on her face Clair Mahoney stands with monumental confidence.

"Oh no, Shaw. Trust me, I'm not going to kill Groves. You are!"


	10. Chapter 10

Notes:

This chapter is going to get pretty dark and deal with torture. So if that makes you uneasy, then skip this one.

"That's all you were Root, just a fling, an experiment really."

* * *

The Persian woman can't help but stifle a laugh in mockery and contempt for the younger woman's ridiculous command. Shaw's grin spanned from ear to ear practically. Hell she's exerting all the self control she possesses not to collapse to her knees on the cold tile floor and roll around laughing.

"Ohhh man, yeah that's not gonna happen, Claire" Shaw gained her composure.

The sinister young prodigy walks around to the other corner of the large room. Grabbing a steel chair, and propping it. She lowers herself down into the sitting position never once breaking eye contact and maintaining her unnerving composure.

"All she wanted from you was one little hug Shaw. A hug or even a little peck on the lips, and you couldn't even do that. You, the ironclad soldier couldn't even tread through the waters of a little simple affection."

From Root's position it seems like Claire really used the lighting to her advantage. From her corner of the room, the way the light strikes her, Claire almost looks otherworldly, demonic almost.

Sameen Shaw refuses to break her stoic expression disposition in favor of Claire's comment. She worked through this ordeal already.

Root decides to aid her girlfriend in this battle of wits so she redirects the conversation to something that has been troubling her mind for a while. "You knew we were coming. How?"

At first it seems like Claire isn't even paying the slightest bit of attention to Root. Sameen and Claire are still locked in an intense staring contest, a massive power struggle. The young prodigy is alarmingly calm as she stares into the Persian sociopath's eyes, with a mischievous smirk. Trying to stare into her soul and pierce it with a dagger. It's that unrelenting.

Root looks back and fourth between Sameen and Claire, using her brilliant intellect to analyze the little internal battle between the other two.

Thirty seconds pass before Claire snaps out of her pseudo catatonic gaze.

"Your little pit stop in Albania. A crew member recorded a video of a plane, operating itself without a pilot. Internet dubbed it the ghost plane. We also have footage of you two boarding it after it refueled. So we surmised, that within a couple hours you imbeciles would be at our doorstep. We had to act fast."

Leaning her head back against the chair, the subdued Root stared upward, rolling her eyes and smirking. "Unbelieveable", quipped the hacker.

Sameen's exhausted enough patience with these childish games and walks over to the table, grabs the dagger, and proceeds to walk as smooth and nonchalant as one would expect over her, towards Root to cut her loose.

The crack of a gunshot polluted the atmosphere in the bleak and depressing room.

The action horrified Shaw who quickly bolted around to check on the person behind her. Her quick assessment proves that Root is uninjured, the bullet came withing a centimeter of grazing Root's right ear, her deaf ear. But the ringing of the gunshot is present in her left ear. The shot wasn't meant for either Root or Shaw, but meant to serve as a warning, what will happen if the woman refuses to participate in Claire's sadistic game. Shaw instinctively reaches for her firearm with every intention of ending the young assailant's life.

"You do it, Shaw, and I kill you. Then I'm going to kill her, since you know, you won't be around to protect her."

* * *

The former ISA agent calmly walks over to the left side wall next to Root. Shaw puts her hands in her pockets and just leans back against the wall, waiting for this whole ordeal to be over with.

Claire continues the goading.

"You sent her to her death, that day. You weren't even there in the car to say goodbye. Not that you would anyway. You killed her Shaw."

Sameen rolled her eyes.

"But what's never made sense to me, why do you care abut her? About them? You ask me you'd be much better off without them. Feelings, they only make you miserable in the end. How many times did you wish it was you instead? Did you even ask it to replay your last conversation? How many times did you wander the streets without purpose, without any spark in your eyes, unable to find any excitement out of life?" The young woman challenged.

Sameen still leans against the wall, only this time with crossed, folded arms as she shakes her head dismissively.

"Sweetie, just ignore her, she's only trying to get in your head", Root decided to chime in.

"Sweetie She calls you sweetie, aww that's so cute. She's playing the doting girlfriend. Acting was always one of your stronger suits Groves. But that's all it is Shaw, just an act. She doesn't love you."

The subdued hacker glares daggers at their tormentor.

"Just call me Root, bitch!" Root demanded.

Claire Mahoney slowly rises up out of her small steel chair and begins a brisk walk over to the interrogation room door. Her eye contact never breaks on either of her captives. The young woman curls her index finger and taps on the cold steel door three times with her knuckle. Smiling the entire time. Stefan strolls into the room carrying a handful of various color coded files, and a gun.

Stefan slams down a dark olive green file on the steel table well within eyesight of Sameen. "Simone Sinclair, why don't you take a look at these photos Shaw. See Miss Sinclair was well, one of Decima's more fanatical and idealistic members. Mainly operating out of Istanbul. One week after you and your team destroyed it, Sinclair, starts getting visited by a familiar brunette." Stefan looks directly at the woman zip tied in the chair.

"Well now, I am embarrassed, it seems our friend, Miss Groves here is not wearing any clothes. Naughty Naughty", Stefan goads as he slides the next photo over across the table. The photo was taken from across the street, and depicts Samantha Groves with her arms locked around Simone Sinclair's head, as the naked duo engage in a steamy sultry kiss, as seen from the window of a cozy little Istanbul apartment.

Sameen's eyes glance downward towards the incriminating photo. Her breathing slows down for a split second. The sensation however, is incredibly short lived as Shaw's eyes refocus back into her trademark blank stare.

"Oh man there's more Shaw. Girlfriend got some explainin' to do."

Claire thumbs though several papers in the same file, methodically arranging them in a neat little row for her captives to see.

"How about a few Text messages?" Stefan howled.

"Oh Simone sweetie, I never want to leave your arms"

"Been waiting all day to pound you into oblivion tonight, I'm so wet."

"Now Shaw, this is the straw that broke the camel's back. This one's gonna hurt" Claire mocked.

Claire read off the final text message in the most mocking, shrill voice that she could produce.

"In this cold cruel world, you are my safe place Simone, I cant live without you."

Root feels the suffocating gaze Shaw is giving her out of her peripherals. It's overwhelming, but if she's going to be put on trial, then she has every right to defend herself.

"Sam, listen to me, it was a cover. She had critical intel on Samaritan's rogue operatives. I only did what I had to do. It's always been you. You're the only one I want."

Claire motions for Stefan to leave the room, now. The young man, leaves the rest of the files on the table alongside the weapons.

"Is she really worth all the misery, Shaw?"

Sameen clenches her jaw and begins a rhythmic pace around the room.

The arrogant fanatical young prodigy continues her taunting. "When push comes to shove, Sameen, she will always choose the machine over you! Then one day, she'll come stumbling through your door after a mission. bloody and battered beyond repair, and she'll slip away and die for real. Then the boredom sets in, the loneliness, the helplessness, the sleepless nights, and in the end you beat yourself up wondering if it was all worth it. I know how you feel, I lost my parents Shaw. Cut her lose, and kill her."

"What is it, with your poor listening skills?" Sameen shot back.

Claire continues, "how many times did you wander around the city looking for something, anything to stimulate you? How many sleepless nights were there?"

I'm not leaving you again. Shaw pushed the thought out of her mind. Still pacing around rhythmically. "Boy you're like a broken clock you know that?"

"You know..."The militant young leader begins "I think you're only with Root because she's an exit sign."

Both Root and Sameen glance up at Claire, in confusion, wondering what the hell she could possibly be getting at.

"As long as you're with her, as long as you serve your country, as long as you finish med school, as long as you save innocent lives you don't have to fulfill your FATHER's worst fear, what your mother always knew deep down. You're an abomination, a complete monster."

Goddamn, she went there. Root thought in complete awe.

"Hmmm...hehe...you...you really need to cease your talking right now Claire" Shaw growled.

"Doctor Shaw, Marine Shaw, Agent Shaw, girlfriend, protector of the innocent; they're all a door marked 'Exit'! Roadblocks you set up to shackle who you truly are, who you're family knows you are, and how many people have to die before you embrace it Shaw? Hmmm? You couldn't be the hero your pateints needed, you couldn't be Michael Cole's hero, and worst of all you couldn't even be Root's hero!"

" I SAID SHUT UPPPPPPPP!" Shaw screamed and with all her strength and vigor lunged at the steel table and in a blind rage mustered everything she had to try to flip the table over. Sameen tried and tried , yet no matter how much strength she exerts, the table is still bolted down. Sameen couldn't halt her rapid hyperventilating, she closes her eyes, lays her head on the table. Desperate to shut down the conflicting thoughts that tormented her mind.

Always trying to be the hero, huh?

No, Just yours.

You mean he's dead?

I'm so sorry, Sameen. I mean, if there's anything I could've done...

I'm hungry. Can I have a sandwich?

The tormenting becomes more and more relentless. Sameen picks her head up, looking for something, she'd settle for anything to refocus her she saw it, under a few loose papers from the files. That pristine gold, with the jewel in the center of the handle of the medieval dagger. The luster of the cold steel blade.

Claire Mahoney's eyes light up when she sees Shaw eyeing the dagger.

"Excellent Shaw, unleash your anger. Let your rage consume you." Claire goaded.

Helplessly tied to a chair, Root cannot bare to see the love of her life suffer mental anguish anymore. "Leave her alone! She doesn't know how to process..." In that moment the epiphany finally became clear to Root, Claire's plan. She Knows Sam can't process her emotions and if she provokes her and overwhelms her she know's Shaw will lash out in anger and do something impulsive. She'll be incredibly vulnerable and susceptible. I can't reason with her, because If I overload her with emotions it'll only make the problem worse. That evil little bitch has beaten us.

* * *

Sameen Shaw positions herself upright this time, turning her back to her captive. Hoping that staring at Root will bring her some much needed solace.

Shaw's attempt to regain her power, by turning her back on Samaritan's only hope, proved to be futile.

"What about you, Root? You claim you love her more than anything in this world. Yet, If Shaw opens the manila file. Do you know what she's going to find?"

"You are going to die, a horrible painful death. I really, sincerely hope you know that" Root proudly declared.

"Samaritan, when it was operational, kept track of certain statistical patterns of your insurgency. The manila folder there are two tables calculating the response and reaction time of one Samantha Groves, pertaining to various predicaments."

Claire keeps her gun trained on the short Persian woman before her, as she walks past the steel table, and grasps the manila file. The deranged young walks up to Root, and positions her glock right against the hacker's sweat caked head. Root felt the indentation of the hole from the barrel against her skin, right above her deaf ear.

The woman flicks open the file, holding it in front of Sameen's face, forcing her to view the data.

"Matters pertaining to your precious Machine, Root was on average five minutes faster in responding to a crisis, then when it came to matters involving you. See the data for yourself Shaw. Know that I'm not lying."

"The data is meaningless Sam, and probably fabricated."

Claire closes the file, and tosses it back onto the table. She proceeds to retreat back into a safe corner of the room.

"Drop the charade Groves. You don't love her. You love that she's second runner up in the Miss Robot Universe Contest. You love that she's the rebound. When your beloved God, fails to provide you with anything meaningful, you creep and crawl up on Shaw. You want a substitute, a cold, calculating machine, except one that goes the extra mile and occasionally goes down on you. Trust me Shaw, if she could achieve sexual gratification from her precious machine. She'd leave you high and dry in the dust in a heartbeat. She's been doing it the entire time you've known her."

Shaw clenches her jaw, and turns away from Root, who would swear Sameen, gave her an eye roll out of the corner of her eye.

Root, knowing she needs to tread carefully in this volatile situation, gives in and tries her best to comfort her girlfriend.

"Sam, none of that is even remotely true. You know I can't live without you. And I mean that."

"Mmmhmm yeah just like you meant it when you said it to Simone." Shaw shot back

"Honey, I told you, it was a cover, and it was meaningless. I only slept with her once."

"Three times, Actually, Shaw." Claire instigates.

"It was one time Shaw! I swear! She's lying to you!"

"Their whirlwind romance lasted little over a month. We spied on them heavily, trust me it was three times" Claire goaded.

"Sameen, It was only one time, and our 'whirlwind romance' barely lasted three weeks. Once I found the intel I needed, I got out, and I never saw her again. I swear. You know I've never lied to you."

"Except about dying." Shaw spouts.

"That was for the greater good, and it wasn't my intention. It just sort of happened. Sweetie every minute I spent away from you, more of me died inside." Pleaded a crying Root.

Shaw leans over the table, exerting every bit of self control not to look at the taser or dagger, her hands are beginning to shake.

"You know...I couldn't help but notice it, when we dragged you in here, but you have a little tattoo of an arrow on your shoulder, Shaw. What is that like a thing between the both of you? How many times did it remind you of her soft voice, how many times did you try to forget it, but ended up looking at it anyway? She only makes you miserable Shaw, and in the end, when she dies for real. You're right back to that vile unbearable existence."

Sameen begins breathing rapidly, her hands shake rapidly and her chest rises and falls, a slight red hue begins to creep across her beautiful skin.

Claire continues her psychological warfare. "You WANTED to push Cole away, you WANT to keep a distance from people, you WANT to withhold affection from Root, because you're a fucking monster Shaw! Embrace it! You like pushing them away, and playing mental games with them because their misery excites you. More than anything you long, yearn, to aim higher than kneecaps, because it invigorates you. Blood titillates you. Destruction gives you life. Take that dagger or gun attached to your side, and unleash, what you were always meant to be, a cold hearted killer! We'll finish what Samaritan started. Kill her now Shaw!

The short sociopath grasps her head and runs her fingers through her hair, clawing at her scalp. Her body is on the verge of convulsing.

Root feels sick to her stomach, her muscles weaken, and her heart drops into her feet. "Fight it Sameen. Remember, we're a Four Alarm Fire!"

Fifteen seconds pass by and Shaw's episode slowly begins to subside. She gathers the strength to pull herself upright, still with her back turned to Root.

"No! There is no 'we'.That's all you were Root, just a fling, an experiment really."

A deranged sadistic smile manifests across Sameen Shaw's face.

* * *

Samantha Groves was mistaken, now her heart has dropped into her feet. She forgets to breathe as the the woman who she viewed as her whole world slowly turned around and faced her. Gone was the glow in her eyes. Only that creepy smile. It unnerved Root, and she was the queen of creepy smiles.

Shaw's arm lunges at Root's throat with unrelenting vigor.

"Whhaaat are yoooouu doiing?" Root strains and struggles as she tried to speak with Shaw's hand wrapped around her neck. Shaw's muscles bulge and tense as the pressure and force almost lift Root, chair and everything, up in the air. "C'mon Root you always wanted me to express my feelings. Why...don't I show you?!"

"This, Sameen strains as she says it, was how it felt every day that you were gone. Like i was being suffocated, being dragged down to the depths of the ocean flailing and gasping for air!"

Sameen Laughs maniacally, finally relinquishing her grip around the hacker's throat.

Desperately gasping for air and trying, for everything she's worth, to catch her breath.

"This This isn't, who you are."

Shaw's laughing cannot stop to save her life. She reaches behind her and grabs the taser. With ruthless conviction, the Persian sociopath powers the device up to full power, and strikes the hacker with it, with all of her might.

Root writhes and screams in the most unfathomable pain she's ever experienced while Sameen refuses to let up.

"You, you did this to me. You, Harold, John, and Lionel. You all humiliated me, I became your pet project, your obsession, your plaything! All of you domesticated me, brought me down to your level. You made me kiss you, goddamn you made me want to kiss you, risk my life for you. I died twice on the operating table, two times, for you, for Harold, for John, and for Fusco." Shaw growls with incredible fury.

The maniacal woman let's up on the taser when she takes notice of a yellow liquid dripping out of Root's pant leg, and accumulating into a small pool.

Claire resumes her taunting "Wow, she pissed her fucking pants Shaw."

"Are you fucking five Root? Well I mean you have the voice of a five year old anyway." Shaw mocked.

Before the woman could even respond the former marine spiked her with another wave of taser.

"9 months! Nine months they held me in captivity, because of my weakness, and all I could cling onto was you. The psychotic delusion of you, and when I finally escaped, you poured your heart and soul out to the person you supposedly love, and then what did you do. You left. Gone, as if you were never there. For three months I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I was even impotent, all because of you. While you were gallivanting on the other side of the world dropping your panties at the behest of your God" The shorter women snarled.

All of Root's muscles siezed up, her hair was infused with sweat. She slumped over in her steel chair, with only the desire to not fall into her own pool of piss, and retaining her dignity, keeping her from tumbling over in the chair. Then something else struck her, this time an internal force, and Root vomited what seemed like everything she'd eaten in a week on the floor. The hacker was freezing cold, her muscles were constricting, she was covered in sweat,and to make matters worse she had piss soaked pants.

"Stop toying with her Shaw and kill her, we don't have all day", Claire ordered.

"You stay out of this!" Shaw growled.

Sameen positions herself on the steel table, and turns towards Claire, while maintaining a line of sight on Root as well in her peripheral vision. She lambasts Claire.

"Do not think for a minute, that you are off the hook here either. After I kill her I'm going to destroy you, I'm going to destroy helper monkey outside there, and then I'm going to walk away with a song in my heart!"

The subdued woman in the chair sputtered, and strained with all her might to form words.

"S...S...Sa...Sam Sam I...I...I ca can feel t-t-th-the c-c-c-conflict with-within you, lllllletttt go of of y...your anger."

Shaw watches as the taller woman, who professes to be her lover, struggles to come to her her senses, struggles to regain her strength. Shaw engages her, staring into her eyes, for close to a minute, with her void lifeless eyes.

The battle of wits ceased once Root squirms and writhes for everything she's worth into a sitting position.

Shaw slinks off the table, walks behind Root slams her palm on her back, between her shoulders. Root is genuinely terrified in this moment.

Shaw leans down and whispers in her ear, but loud enough for Claire to hear as well.

"My name is Shaw! Not Sameen, not Sam, not sweetie, muffin, or darlin. Shaw. That's it. That other woman is dead. You hear me?"

In that instant Root felt something drop into her own hands, something cold. Her fingers fiddle with it.

The Swiss army knife. Dont react. She was never going to kill you.

Unbeknownst to their captor, Root fiddles and flicks the knife blade and proceeds to make slow, minuscule cuts of the plastic against the blade. Very slowly, one teenie tiny swipe at a time, as to not attract attention.

Shaw tauntingly lurches upright. Making a bee line for the table. The woman grips her hand on the cold sturdy handle of the dagger.

"I'm going to purge you from existence, every memory of you, I'll destroy every personification of you. I'm done. You won't haunt me anymore, torment my thoughts, or physiology anymore. Even your precious machine. It'll all be a myth." Sameen remarked.

"Shaw please, you're lashing out, because she hurt you, I hurt you. You don't know how to process these things, and you're about to make the biggest mistake of your life. Everything you've ever fought for, everyone you ever cared about... It'll all be in vain if you do this. Please listen to reason." Root played along as her zip tie was nearly completely cut, she can't cut it completely.

"It was all a hindrance." Shaw commented cold and remorselessly.

Go along with it. Claire will suspect something if you don't.

"Whatever you say. Betray your own heart and run that dagger across my throat."

Shaw grabs the dagger, traipsing along the floor until she's beside the unfortunate victim. With every ounce of subtlety The Persian sociopath leans against Root. Her hips assuring the gun at her waist, rub up against her ally, as Shaw positions herself on Root's right

Flick my wrists free. Grab Shaw's gun. Got it.

Clenching her first with venomous vigor and rage, Sameen yanked Root's hair, and by extension her head backwards. Forcing Root to eye the ceiling.

From across the room. Claire's hand makes a swift motion down into her pocket. Sameen almost failed to notice.

"There's something, I want you to know Root. Something for you to stew on as you choke and drown in your own blood..." Shaw poised.

Every hair in every concievable area of Root's body stood up as the cold steel blade positioned itself across her throat.

"We're a Symphony!"

Faster than the blink of an eye, Root's hands free themselves, landing on Shaw's gun.

Three rapid shots later Claire Mahoney was down. A bright crimson pool of blood manifests underneath her.

* * *

Slipping under Root's arm, Shaw exerts all her strength. Propping Root upright, helping the woman maintain her balance.

"Her colossall overconfidence was her downfall. Can you walk?"

"Shouldn't be a problem. I've got it from here, Shaw."

Using the bolted down steel table as leverage Root leans over. Trying her best to halt the shivering, Root stands there, allowing herself to catch her breath. Sameen on the other hand, callously strolls over to the pool of blood. Observing Claire's inert, deceased body, Shaw palms her gun and unloads another cap right into the dead woman's head. Root stares at her love in awe.

"Horror movies Root. You can learn a thing or two from them."

Shaw acts on her curiosity. Sliding her hand into Claire's blood soaked pocket. Her hands finger something, that Shaw really hopes isn't what it thinks it is. Pulling out the skinny pen shaped object, Sameen accepts the feeling she dreaded. Both her eyes and Root's eyes lock on the object.

"Please tell me that's not..."

"A detonator. We gotta go, now!" Shaw finishes.

Finally catching her breath and collecting her thoughts. Root scurries towards the door of the wretched room. "C'mon Sameen. There's not much time."

Both women fling the metal door open. Too Root's surprise, Shaw grabs her arm before they scurry off. Halting the hacker dead in her tracks.

"I humiliated you. I'm sorry. Nobody should have to endure that." Shaw commented, referring the Root's piss soaked pants and the pool of her vomit on the floor.

"It's fine, sweetie. We need to move now."

"No Root it's not! Don't ever make apologies for someone who does that to you!"

Shaw relinquishes her grip on Root's arm, and both women hurry towards the office.

 **Danger! The emergency Self Destruct sequence is now active. T minus Fifteen minutes until complete destruction.**

Panic sets in, adding extra spring in the steps of both women as they rush to stop the virus and escape the island.

* * *

Notes

1\. Claire most likely knew details about Shaw's early life, from Decima. Samaritan probably collected data from her earlier life.

2\. Claire WAS lying. Root only slept with Simone once, and it was for a cover. Claire was just trying to manipulate Shaw.

3\. I tried to keep Shaw as much in character as possible. I had this scene and the final two chapters and the epilogue planned from the beginning, since I wrote the beginning. Then I let the story grow organically until this chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Back in Chapter 9 Root did say that once the virus passed 40% it couldn't be contained. Well the interrogation/torture scene took a little longer than i expected, and rather than re edit the chapter to suit the plot convenience, I decided to turn this into a comedic moment

* * *

Two of Earth's mightiest heroes dash down the long isolated corridors of the spooky island facility, passing grim, lifeless bodies of enemies they've dispatched, desperately trying to beat the clock before the island facility blows up.

Root couldn't help but notice Sameen's movements seemed uncharacteristically lethargic, reckless and sloppy even. Stefan was still lurking around somewhere, probably waiting around a corner to ambush them. The two needed to save the world from a technological dark age, but they can't afford to be sloppy, especially since they've come this far.

Root slows down her pace, transitioning it into a slow stealth because she knows Shaw will follow suit.

Claire's office is just a short distance away.

 _ **THIRTEEN MINUTES UNTIL COMPLETE DESTRUCTION. PLEASE SEEK SAFTEY.**_

"Surely there's a way off this island". Root stopped, as she looked at Shaw.

"You didn't see the pontoon boat, by the dock, I noticed it on the parachute ride down?" Shaw's words dripped out monotonously, with barely any inflection.

"No, I didn't. You sure?"

"Yeah."

Root comes to a complete stop. It breaks her heart to see Sameen, down in the dumps like this.

"Come here, Shaw." Root motions for the shorter woman to come closer to her.

Out of curiosity, Sameen approaches the taller woman and closes the gap.

Root pulls Shaw into a powerful hug. "You're not a monster Sam."

Sameen's eyes drop downward. She can't even bare to look at Root.

"Sam, look at me!" Root commands.

Reluctantly the Persian woman makes eye contact with the woman hugging her. "We don't have much time. We need to stop the virus, before we get killed."

"My soulmate not dying believing she's a monster, is more important."

Shaw's facial expression contorts into neutral.

"Would a monster, put her life on the line for innocent people, everyday? Would a monster break her stoic disposition and revert to a giddy little girl every time she plays with Bear? Would a monster's eyes water and form a subtle tear after hearing a heartfelt message from the person who she cares most about in the whole world?"

Sameen's breathing intensifies "I hurt you. I almost killed you."

"You didn't though, because somewhere in your sociopathic heart, you know we're made for each other. I didn't want to tell you this Sameen, but the other day you left the comms on. Remember Oded's words a few days ago, the day you both worked a number?"

 _Oz didn't give the tin man what he didn't already have,_ Shaw reminisced as Root said the exact same words out loud.

"So many people love you, Sameen. You're a hero to almost everyone who crosses your path. That's the antithesis of a monster." Root said in a comforting voice as she let Shaw out of the warm hug.

The perky hacker knows her little pep talk helped tremendously.

"Besides, how long did you seriously consider killing me?"

Shaw desperately attempts to fight off the devious smirk crawling up her mouth. "About Five seconds."

 ** _TEN MINUTES UNTIL COMPLETE DESTRUCTION. ALL OCCUPANTS URGED TO EVACUATE._**

"This way!" Shaw smiled as they resumed their dash in the direction of Claire's office.

* * *

The metal door of Claire's private office nearly bursts open with Root nearly lunging for the computer terminal. True to form Claire was too overconfident and eager, they didn't bother removing the flash drive.

 _ **45% loaded**_

Panic washed over Shaw as she leans over Root, who's pounding away on the keyboard.

"Forty Five Percent! Root, we're too late!"

Root's eyebrow raises as she gives her love a quizzical look.

"No, not until it reaches fifty percent."

"Root, outside by the rocks, you said forty percent!"

"No Sam, I said fifty."

"Root" Shaw heaves a frustrated sigh before continuing "I know for a fact you said forty percent."

Root's growing frustration builds due to Sameen's distraction. She knows she is right on this and Shaw is wrong.

"Why would I say forty percent Shaw? In what world does that make any sense?"

"Tell you what Root, the moment big Sis comes back online, we're settling this argument. You said forty percent!" The Persian woman growled.

"She was glitched up Sam. Plus there weren't any electronic devices with us. So nice try Darlin." Root purrs with such endearment.

Shaw slams her hands down to her side and storms off a few feet away from the desk, as Root finishes up. Containing the virus.

 _I had a chance to kill her. I had the chance._

Root yanks out the flash drive and makes a bee line towards the door. "We did it Sam. C'mon where's that boat?"

Both women stumble out of the office, intending to find an exit, and run outside towards the dock.

Much to their chagrin, but not their surprise as they turn the corner, they find Stefan waiting for them. He stands before them wearing a deranged smile.

"And this is the part where we find out our escape plan is foiled" Shaw comments with complete deadpan.

Reaching into his pocket Stefan pushes a button.

A thunderous explosion roars from one side of the island. Both women know, that the goon just destroyed the boat.

* * *

 _ **SIX MINUTES TO DESTRUCTION. EVACUATION IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE.**_

Sameen empties half of her clip into Stefan. Samaritan's army and what ever hope it once had is now completely dead.

Root and Shaw's hearts jackhammer in response to the blaring message over the loudspeaker.

A defeated Root slides down the wall into a sitting position, unable to fight the watering in her eyes.

Sameen Shaw grinds her teeth, as her eyes dart upward as if trying to fight some minor dormant feeling deep down.

In this moment she realized now's as good a time as ever to throw Root a little bone.

Teeth still gritting, the Persian woman slides down the wall taking a seat next to Root. "Wannahavethatmaybesomeday?" She quickly forces out of her mouth.

Despite tears heavily flowing Root can't help but let out a delighted smile.

"Sure." Root chuckles.

She wouldn't want this any other way. Since she's going to die, it might as well be with the person she loves more than anything in the whole world.

Yet Root still feels the need to spill her heart out. She was robbed of the chance last time, and won't make the same mistake again.

"Hopefully our tunes will harmonize wherever they end up, and our symphony carries on for all eternity. I love you Sameen Shaw. You're perfect just the way you are." Root sobbed, while maintaining a smile.

Sameen's eyes darted upward for a second time, and several internal forces went into overdrive. The heroin's breathing slowed down, two sensations in her brain and stomach formed and battled ferociously.

Root slowly glanced over at the love of her life. The former assassin noticed the other woman's eyes and lips quivering. Her whole body shaking, something is trying to force its way out of Sameen's brain and mouth.

Sameen Shaw's eyes became heavier and heavier, blinking rapidly. Against all odds both of her eyes, manged to water, but only so subtly as a single tear forms, but ultimatley fails to trickle.

Deciding in that second if she can't force any words out, Sameen Shaw on an impulse scoots even closer to Root.

The love of Root's life, slowly and gently leans over and nuzzles the side of her head into Root's chest, her head resting right over her heart. Root feels the warm black hair and Sameen's soft skin resting on her chest. The two are completely at peace.

"Just close you eyes Root, we won't even feel it." Shaw murmurs as her eyes close. Root wraps her arm around Sameen as the Persian woman remains snuggled at her side, her head still on Root's chest. Right over her heart, where she belongs.

Root finally closes her eyes. Clamping off the remaining tears

 ** _TWO MINUTES THIRTY SECONDS TO DESTRUCTION._**

The two soulmates remain frozen in time. Not even flinching.

* * *

Curled up in absolute bliss a faint sound from far off in the distance rouses their attention. The repetitive rhythmic sound edges closer and closer, reaching the point where it can't be dismissed as a figment of their imaginations.

 _Whump whump whump whump._ The same sound recycled over and over

"That can't be what I think it is", Root breaks the ice.

Instantly a groggy familiar voice comes over the intercom. A soft lilting voice that Root and Shaw would honestly agree probably scared the shit out of them.

 _Like a helicopter for my two favorite girls?_

 _The machine!_ Both thought simultaneously, since they truly are two halves of a whole.

Root and Shaw's eyes lunge open, as the scramble out of their position. Monumental smiles form across their face, as they stagger for an exit.

 _Forgive me, I couldn't resist watching you both have a moment. My archive of Rom Coms is a little less than stellar. Hurry!_

* * *

Notes

*I wanted more than anything for Sameen to be able to tell Root that she loved her, but as I was writing it out, I had to kind of get in the mood and head of the characters, and in the end. I realized it wasn't within her character. Her actions speak louder than her words, and that dynamic makes their love epic.

*Poor Shaw, she was right, and has no way to prove she won the argument. We've all been in a situation like that.

* Stay tuned to see if they make it out in time.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Don't forget to check out the epilogue, which is coming up after this. The epilogue will be the final final chapter

* * *

 **TWO MINUTES UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT**

Root and Shaw scurry across the wet terrain of Zinthos Island, running towards the cliffs, knowing that will be the best area for them to be seen.

"Who could be flying it?" Root shouted.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!" Shaw shouted back in response.

* * *

Behind the controls of the sleek black chopper Logan Pierce smiled "Right down there. I see them. Get ready."

"Go, get up along side 'em there on the rocks, we don't have time for them to climb the ladder", said a bruised and battered Oded Shaw, who against all odds and noting short of a miracle, survived the plane crash. His nose is broken and he'll need surgery, but this was the greater priority.

"Where's the megaphone", Oded wondered.

"It's wedged back there somewhere." Logan replied as they descended.

Grasping the megaphone Oded Shaw flings open the helicopter door as it lands right across the cliff. Off in the distance he spots his cousin and the love of her life running towards the chopper. "Crimson and Clover, hurry, Jump in. It's me and Pierce!"

* * *

Root sucks in air and gasps "Odie."

 **NINETY SECONDS UNTIL COMPLETE DESTRUCTION.**

Shaw and Root approach the edge of the cliff. Halting in their tracks as they realize that it will be a four foot jump inside the helicopter.

"You go first", Shaw demanded.

"Not a chance, sweetie."

"Root...look if you go first I promise, I'll let you work out your aggression later" Shaw replied with a devious smirk.

"Fair enough."

Bracing herself the taller woman sprinted, jumping the gap and landing in the helicopter.

 **FORTY FIVE SECONDS**

Utilizing all of her strength and discipline, Sameen Shaw runs full speed jumping the gap. Her foot slips on the entryway of the chopper, but luckily Root and Oded wouldn't allow it, and they both pull her in.

Oded and Sameen slam the chopper door shut.

 _Buckle up everyone._ The Machine cooed.

"How you feeling, twin?" Root cooed.

Sameen rolled her eyes _Twin, yeah that's gonna get annoying._

 _I think its what you would call a hangover_

Everyone in the helicopter laughed as Logan and Oded floored it. Shaw elbowed Root, both of them gazed outside the window. Time slowed down, and a small light appears on the island, expanding, and expanding, into a massive explosion.

"I cant wait to see how you two celebrate New Years" Logan commented as the crew flew away off to safety.

The team was back together finally, with allies old and new as the chopper flew off into the sunset. Stopping once they reached the mainland so Root could purchase a new pair of pants, and Shaw a burger.


	13. Epilogue

_Summary:_ Set 3 days after the island escape.

Shaw decides to give things a try with Root. They embark on a one week vacation along the east coast. And Shaw decides to give in and tell Root how she feels about her.

* * *

 _Three Days Later._

Bear scampers across the cold damp New York City concrete. His four feet move faster than his mind, as he tugs and drags the slightly overweight and middle aged man further down the block. Finally coming to a complete stop the Belgian Malinois pants and whimpers impatiently. Allowing Lionel Fusco to catch his breath.

Closing the trunk of a brand new black convertible, Root, smiles and rushes over to Bear kneeling down to play with her favorite dog.

The leash lunged out of Fusco's hand and the dog playfully scratches at the hacker's signature leather jacket, covering the woman with licks. "I missed you too buddy" she says in her baby talk voice as she kisses the dog back, petting him like no tomorrow.

"Cocoa Puffs, you just got back. You sure you can't stay?"

"Afraid not Lionel. She really surprised me."

Root continues "But I promise we'll be back next week for your promotion. We'll all celebrate."

Fusco smiles, at the chipper psycho. "So you hear back from Glasses, and Grace?"

"Harry...wished more than anything that he could've been there for us. I told him, that it just wasn't possible for him to make it to Greece in time."

Oded Shaw strolls out of the apartment building, toting one duffel bag. The older Shaw loaded the bag into the trunk of the convertible. It took all the discipline they could muster for Root and Fusco not to giggle at his nose, being covered in gauze.

"Geez, how many bags you need Nutella?"

"Oh, that's not my bag, its Sam's."

"Wait you and broody are going outta town?"

"A week long vacation along the East Coast, it was her idea!" Root couldn't contain her glee in the statement. She was all perk and borderline squealing in that statement.

Lionel looks at Oded Shaw, trying to decide if he wants to proceed with his next question. But it turns out there's no need, Oded answers it for the detective.

"Yes I'll be working the numbers, while they're gone. Do you find something funny about that Detective?" The older Shaw playfully warns, even though he's kidding, Lionel's wary about getting on the bad side of a Shaw.

The reunion of the three friends is cut short when they hear a quick slam of the door of the apartment building. Sameen Shaw staggers out of the building, wearing Root's leather jacket and carrying a quart sized bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey in her hand. Everyone in the group noticed the bottle was a hair away from halfway empty.

Bear scurries up to one of his favorite humans, ferociously licking her hand and nuzzling his head against it as well.

"Gooodboy Ilooveyoutoo." Shaw slurred staggering into the passenger seat without saying a word to any of her friends.

Shaw pats her leg, whistling at the same time. Bear leaps onto her lap then crawls into the backseat.

"Try not to cause any mayhem you two." Fusco joked.

Root walked over to Lionel, putting her hands on his shoulders, smiling the whole time "Can't make any promises." The perky psycho then hugged him and walked over to her someday hope to be cousin in law, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a big hug. Both men smile as Root hops into the driver's seat, finally taking off with her lover and their dog.

Watching the car drift out of sight Fusco turns to Oded. "What's that all about? Shaw's drunk off her ass."

Oded motioned for Fusco to walk with him as they talked. "She came within minutes of losing Root again, I think she wants to tell Root something that she couldn't bring herself to do the last two times."

"Can they do it, Shaw? The two of them?" Fusco couldn't help but ask. It was his New Yorker curiosity getting the best of him.

"You wouldn't be able to tell it from looking at her, but those months she thought Root was dead, were unbearable for her. She has this tough exterior but deep down she was suffering inside. Unable to find any pleasure or joy from the most mundane of activities. The monotony will push her to her limits, but trust me Lionel, she'll endure it, for her. And only her."

Detective Fusco smiled as him and and his friend, and ally walk down the street together, as the omnipresent gaze of the Machine pans out, and their window loses itself in the infinite abyss of windows.

* * *

One hour passes by as a yellow box materializes around a black convertible, cruising along upstate New York. Speeding past picket fences and flat lands. Her focus honing in on two people. Two people, who it would probably view as among its family.

Sameen knocks back another large sip from her whiskey bottle, staring out at the countryside with her usual flat affect. Exerting ungodly amounts of willpower and self disciple to stay awake and power through what she planned on doing.

Shaw though back to her captivity, all the torture they put her through, how they robbed her of her own reality, destroyed her independence, and came within an inch of breaking her. Dwelling on those hardships was not something she intended on reliving, but realized it would be necessary for today. Shaw thought back to her escape, being reunited with her friends and Root, Root's "death", and most of all the ordeal they went through in the past couple days.

Forcing herself, in an un-inhibited drunken state to recall every detail, forcing the anger and confusion to bottle up. She thought back to that vulnerable moment she shared with Root moments before they thought they were about to die. She began to tremble ever so slightly, desperately trying to force herself into that state of mind. Her teeth grind and grit, she's almost there. _If you were a shape you'd be a straight line, an arrow. The arrow to Root's heart._

 _Her heart._ Sameen recalled the safe, serene feeling she felt nuzzled up against Root, being able to hear and feel her heart beat, as if she was a part of it.

Intuitively, both Root and Bear stir, Shaw's trembling and labored breathing rouse their attention. Shaw's antics become more and more rapid, unstable almost. Root pulls over on the shoulder. Nothing but the two of them, fences and the beautiful eastern countryside. "Sameen, honey what's wrong?" Root asked.

"Shhhutthehell up Root, Just shuttthehellup a minute." The persian woman slurred, focusing her mind. Trying her best to coordinate her anger to work with her un-inhibited brain. She needs this plan to work, experience all these things at once so that she lashes out and her brain forces her to blurt out, what it couldn't on the island. Words that her brain and her heart tried to force out, but they fell short of her mouth.

"Sameen, please. You don't have to do this, if you don't want to."

"No Root, Ineedto say this." Shaw growled

"Sam, did you do this for me, Get drunk so you could tell me something?"

"I-I-I w..w...wa...wanted foryou to hear it. J-J-J-Just once I wanto say it."

"Okay." Root listens

Reflecting on her torture at the hands of Samaritan, Root's death, the sadistic game Claire forced her to play, and her inability to say what her brain desired. Her anger swelled, she was on the verge of doing something impulsive. The nerve impulse was heading straight for her mouth.

Shaw scooted over, and as best she could with an armrest dividing them leaned over into Root. Her head resting up against her. Trying to recreate what happened on the island.

Nerves crept up on Root, the taller woman started to shake as well. She could feel Shaw struggling to convey what her subconscious was wanting her to say, she could smell the Whiskey seeping out of her breath and through her skin. The moment was coming, and fast.

 _Say it, Say it, SAY IT, SAY IT, SAY IT , her brain commanded._ She doesn't know what the words are, but she's about to force some sweet truth out of her mouth.

The pit in her stomach expanded, rapidly and rapidly, until finally, it came out like word vomit.

Resting against Root's shoulder Sameen Shaw blurted out "I THINK YOU'RE PERFECT TOO!"

The Persian woman trembled as her breath escaped her.

In that moment Root's heart melted. _She thinks I'm perfect too!_

Tears of joy formed and trickled down her eyes as she smiled from ear to ear. That statement took her breath away, and apparently Sameen's breath as well. Root couldn't stop smiling and sobbing. What Shaw said, was better than any "I love you" would ever be. This woman put herself under the influence just to be able to relate how she felt about Root. All was right in the world!

Sameen spent a few more seconds with her head on Root's chest, indifferent to the tears landing on her cheek. Somehow, deep down, she felt at ease, safe even for having said it. Both felt warm, nothing else in the world mattered at that particular moment, only their own serenity.

Sameen slowly composed herself and slumped back into her seat. She quickly turned on her right side, closing her eyes, and finally allowing herself to rest.

Root rode out the wave of bliss, before finally drying her eyes. Looking over at the love of her life, her arrow, the brunette hacker reignited the engine, and pulled back onto the main road.

* * *

Three hours passed by, before Sameen stirred. Her eyes slowly cracked open, then watering as her sight is bombarded with the sunset. Groggy as hell, she shifts her position in the car seat. Root still next to her, driving along the New England countryside. Joan Jett's song Crimson and Clover playing on the radio.

Coming to her senses, Sameen recalls the events of a couple hours ago, the intricate details, and much to her surprise, finds herself feeling no regret over allowing herself to be vulnerable. Root is the only person she trusts to be vulnerable around.

 _My my Such a sweet thing_

 _I wanna do everything_

 _What a beautiful feeling_

 _Crimson and Clover_

 _Over and Over_

 _Crimson and Clover_

 _Over and Over_

 _Crimson and Clover_

 _Over and Over_

Sameen leans forward, grunting due to the hangover from hell, and pushes the button. The radio cuts off.

Samantha Groves looks over at Sameen with the most luminous smile ever. "Hey sleepy-head. We're almost there."

Shaw heaves out an enormous sigh. A rare smile finds its way on her face.

"So if we're going to try this...thing we have. We should probably get to know each other first."

Taking a deep breath, exhaling the scent of Whiskey with a smile, much to Root's delight. Shaw continues into the next statement with absolutely no reservations or hesitation at all.

"Root...My real last name is..."

And Shaw told her. The two lovers spent the rest of the trip, happily divulging personal details about their pasts. Sameen Shaw and Root Groves are an unstoppable force of nature as they drive off into the sunset awaiting new adventures. Oh and Bear too!

* * *

*I decided not to reveal what Shaw's real last name would be, because less is more with her, and it was a private, intimate moment with Root, and I felt it should remain between them.

*I was at a crossroads with whether or not Shaw should tell Root that she the thinks that she's perfect, back in chapter 11 when they were both about to die, but ultimately I decided that Sameen couldn't bring herself to do it. So I had to get her in a state where she willingly puts herself under the influence to loosen up enough to force the words out.

*Shaw thinks Root's perfect too. And that touched Root's soul.

*Hope you all enjoyed this saga.


End file.
